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'■' ISSBbookof 

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Le  Foyer  Detruit   (The  Home  Destroyed), 


HANDBOOK  OF 

FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN 
PROTESTANTISM 

PREPARED    BY 

LOUISE  SEYMOUR  HOUGHTON 


PUBLISHED    FOR    THE 

FEDERAL    COUNCIL    OF   THE   CHURCHES   OF 
CHRIST  IN   AMERICA 

BY    THE 

MISSIONARY    EDUCATION    MOVEMENT 
NEW    YORK 


Copyright,  1919,  py 

FEDERAL  COUNCIL  OP  THE  CHURCHES  OP 

CHRIST  IN  AMERICA 


PREFACE 

The  purpose  of  this  book  is  twofold.  First:  to  give 
accurate  information  as  to  Protestantism  in  France  from 
the  earHest  days  to  the  present  time.  This  purpose  could 
by  no  means  have  been  accomplished  without  the  aid  of 
the  Federal  Council  of  the  Churches  of  Christ  in  America 
in  securing,  and  the  Protestant  Federation  of  France  in 
procuring,  precise  data  such  as  are  especially  to  be  found 
in  Part  II  of  this  volume.  Particularly  is  the  gratitude 
of  the  compiler  due  to  the  generous  interest  and  valuable 
help  of  such  eminent  French  Protestants  as  Dean  Emile 
Doumergue,  D.D.,  of  the  Theological  Faculty  of  Mon- 
tauban.  Professor  John  Vienot  of  the  Theological  Faculty 
of  Paris,  M.  E.  Gruner,  President  of  the  French  Protes- 
tant Federation,  and  Pastor  Jules  Pf  ender,  President  of 
the  Permanent  Committee,  Wilfred  Monod,  D.D.,  Pastor 
of  the  Church  of  the  Oratoire,  Professor  of  the  Paris 
Theological  Faculty  and  President  of  the  General  Synod 
of  the  National  Union  of  Reformed  Churches,  M.  Andre 
Weiss,  of  the  Paris  Faculty  of  Law,  M.  Frank  Puaux, 
President  of  the  French  Protestant  Historical  Society,  of 
Pastors  Charles  Merle  d'Aubigne,  D.D.,  of  the  Central 
(Home  Mission)  Society,  Jean  Bianquis,  General  Secre- 
tary, and  Daniel  Couve,  Associate  Secretary  of  the  Paris 
Foreign  Missionary  Society,  of  Pastor  Benjamin  Couve, 
D.D.,  President  of  the  Paris  Consistory  of  Evangelical 
Reformed  Churches,  Pastor  H.  Bach,  President  of  the 

iii 


iv  PREFACE 

Paris  Consistory  of  Lutheran  Churches,  Rev.  Andre 
Monod,  General  Secretary  of  the  Protestant  Federation 
of  Churches,  and  M.  CorneHs  de  Witt,  President  of  the 
Protestant  Committee  for  Aid  in  Devastated  Regions, 
of  Pastor  J.  de  Vismes  of  that  Committee,  of  the  I^ev. 
Chauncey  W.  Goodrich,  D.D.,  of  the  American  Church 
in  the  rue  de  Berri,  Paris,  of  the  Revs.  A.  Blocher,  Henri 
Anet,  D.D.,  of  the  Belgian  Missionary  Churches,  and 
Major  Pierre  Blommaert,  Chief  of  Protestant  Chaplains 
in  the  Belgian  Army;  to  all  of  whom  warm  thanks  are 
here  tendered. 

Second :  to  inspire  American  Christians  of  every  de- 
nomination with  love  and  reverence  for  their  brethren  of 
France — doubly  theirs  now  by  the  blood-brotherhood  of 
the  French  "Field  of  Honor" — and  to  rouse  the  impulse 
to  aid  and  serve  them  by  all  possible  means.  To  this 
end  nothing  can  be  more  effective  than  the  study  of 
Huguenot  history.  In  the  present  case,  notwithstanding 
thirty  years  of  devoted  study  of  this  stubject,  the  first 
part  of  this  Handbook  could  not  have  been  made  entirely 
authoritative  without  the  aid  of  several  of  the  French- 
men already  mentioned,  and  of  certain  visitors  from  for- 
eign parts,  now  in  this  country.  To  know  how  the  per- 
secuted Huguenots  and  Lutherans  of  France  and  Bel- 
gium through  long  generations  kept  the  faith,  how  they 
were  loyal  at  once  to  God,  to  earthly  sovereigns  and  to 
truth,  how  they  bravely  endured  torture,  imprisonment, 
the  galleys,  martyrdom,  exile,  destitution,  supported  by 
an  indomitable  hope,  how  for  generations  the  "Church 
under  the  Cross,"  whose  emblem  was  the  burning  bush, 
— ever  burning  but  never  consumed, — ^kept  alive  in  "the 
Desert"  the  faith  of  Jesus  Christ — to  know  all  this  is  to 


PREFACE  V 

know  the  most  thrilling  story  of  modem  Church  history. 
Of  necessity  this  story  has  here  been  briefly  told,  yet  not 
so  briefly,  it  may  be  hoped,  as  to  fail  of  its  message  of 
inspiration.  In  proportion  as  American  Christians  lend 
their  help  and  prayers  to  a  body  of  Christians  so  ably 
endowed  to  promote  the  Kingdom  of  God  on  earth,  so 
much  the  sooner  will  that  word  of  Christ  become  a  pres- 
ent truth :  "I  have  overcome  the  world !" 

The  collaboration  of  Dr.  Charles  S.  Macfarland  and 
of  Dr.  Eddison  Mosiman  has  counted  for  much  in  the 
character  and  value  of  this  book.  It  was  undertaken  by 
the  request  of  Dr.  Macfarland  and  carries  out  his  plans 
as  to  structure  and  contents.  His  visits  to  France  made 
him  an  effective  medium  between  the  wishes  and  pur- 
poses of  French  and  American  church  leaders,  by  which 
the  book  as  it  stands  has  greatly  profited;  while  in  this 
country  Dr.  Mosiman's  unflagging  interest  and  ready 
counsel  have  brought  strong  aid  to  the  execution  of  the 
plans  adopted.  It  remains  only  to  be  said'  that  the  manu- 
script of  the  Handbook  was  submitted  to  the  Executive 
Committee  of  the  French  Protestant  Federation  and  to 
leading  men  in  all  American  denominations  concerned 
with  work  in  France.  Such  errors  as  they  have  pointed 
out  were  rectified,  and  their  observations  taken  into  care- 
ful consideration.  The  Handbook  now  goes  forth  ap- 
proved by  Protestant  leaders  in  France  and  in  our  own 
country. 

Louise  Seymour  Houghton. 


INTRODUCTION 

The  people  of  America  have  during  the  past  four  years 
become  deeply  interested  in  the  people  of  France  and 
Belgium.  While  this  has  been  a  profound  and  unlimited 
human  interest,  it  is  natural  and  obvious  that,  in  associa- 
tion with  it,  the  evangelical  churches  of  America  should 
have  a  special  concern  for  their  suffering  brethren  of  the 
evangelical  churches  in  these  nations. 

Heretofore  there  has  been  little  contact  between  these 
churches,  other  than  the  occasional  expression  of  senti- 
ments of  esteem  and  good  will.  The  experiences  of  the 
war  have  now  translated  our  sympathy  into  terms  of 
service. 

This  volume  has  been  prepared  to  meet  the  demand  of 
the  pastors  and  members  of  our  churches  for  ready  in- 
formation concerning  the  history  and  especially  the  pres- 
ent conditions,  of  our  sister  churches  in  France  and 
Belgium. 

Mrs.  Louise  Seymour  Houghton  has  for  decades  been 
rendering  distinguished  service  of  this  kind  through 
voice  and  pen.  No  one  in  America  knows  better  the  his- 
tory of  the  Huguenot  and  other  Protestant  churches  in 
France  than  she  and  no  one  has  entered  more  deeply  into 
their  genius  and  spirit.  This  service,  which  is  a  labor 
of  love  on  her  part,  will  merit  and  should  receive  the 
gratitude  of  the  Christian  churches  of  America  and  of 
France  and  Belgium. 

vii 


yiii  INTRODUCTION 

The  book  has  been  designed  distinctively  in  the  light 
of  its  practical  value  and  service  rather  than  simply  from 
the  viewpoint  of  the  historian.  It  is  to  be  earnestly 
hoped  that  our  pastors  and  the  members  of  our  churches 
will  find  it  a  source  of  inspiration  and  guidance,  to  the 
end  that  we  may  participate  in  the  great  evangelical 
movements  in  these  two  nations  which  have,  during  these 
recent  years,  made  for  themselves  so  large  a  place  in  the 
heart  of  the  world. 

Charles  S.  Macfarland. 


CONTENTS 

PART  ONE 
Historical 


PAGE 

Preface  i" 

Introduction    vii 

J,    The  Birth  of  Protestantism  in  France 3 

II.    From  the  Publication  of  the  Edict  of  Nantes  to 

Its   Revocation    14 

III.    From  the  Revocation  to  the  Restoration  of  Prot- 
estantism in  France  20 

JV.    From  the  Edict  of  Toleration  to  the  Third  Re- 
public      29 

V.    From  the  Founding  of  the  Third  Republic  until 

the  Separation  of  Church  and  State  40 

VI.    French  Protestant  Churches  of  Alsace  and  Lor- 
raine     51 

VII.    The  Reformation  in  Belgium 54 


PART  TWO 

Twentieth  Century  French  and  Belgian 
Protestantism 

I.    Its  Organization  and  Activities   61 

IT.    Its  Influence  in  the  Life  of  the  Nation  92 

II  r.    Its  Influence  Abroad   109 

IV     French  Protestants  and  the  War  129 

V.    Present  Condition  and  Needs    144 

VI.    The  Future  Task  of  French  Protestantism 165 

PART  THREE 

Relations  between  American  and  French 
Protestantism 

T.    American  Organizations  at  Work  for  France  177 

11.    America's  Future  Part  for  French  Protestantism  189 
III.    American   Protestants  United  to  Perform   Their 

Part 202 

Appendix 239 

Bibliography    243 


ILLUSTRATIONS 

Le  Foyer  Detruit  (The  Home  Destroyed)    Frontispiece 

PAGE 

Tower  of  Constance  where  Huguenot  Women  Were  Im- 
prisoned    22 

Outdoor  Meeting  in  Huguenot  Desert,  July,  1918 38 

Rumed  Protestant  Church  near  Chateau-Thierry   102 

Ruins  of  Protestant  Church  at  Templeux  le  Guerard 134 

Rums  of  Protestant  Church  m  Verdun  150 

Manse   of    Ruined   Protestant   Church  at   Nancy   with   Its 

Pastors 166 

After  Religious  Service  by  Protestant  Chaplains  at  Verdun, 

July,  1918   214 


PART  I 
HISTORICAL 


THE  BIRTH  OF  PROTESTANTISM  IN  FRANCE 

The  history  of  the  Huguenot  ^  Church  of  France, 
Mater  dolorosa  of  Reformed  churches,  is  one  that  above 
all  other  histories  should  stir  the  hearts  of  Christians. 
Not  only  because  of  the  sufferings  of  that  martyr  Church 
whose  name  for  long  years  was  "the  Church  under  the 
Cross,"  but  because,  first  of  all  organizations  in  Christen- 
dom, the  Huguenot  Church  stood  for  liberty  through 
democracy,  the  very  watchword  of  today. 

The  principle  of  liberty  throbs  in  the  blood  of  France. 
As  the  great  Huguenot  jurist  Hotman  taught  in  the  days 
of  Charles  IX,  the  very  name  of  Frenchmen,  Frangais, 
Franci,  "free  from  tribute,"  shows  what  they  were  from 
the  beginning.  The  "eldest  daughter  of  the  Church" 
was  never  so  submissive  to  Rome  as  other  nations.  There 
was  no  country  where  so  called  "heresies" — "protests  of 
the  popular  conscience  against  the  errors  and  sins  of  the 
dominating  Church,"  were  so  numerous,  constant,  and  on 
the  whole  successful  as  in  France  during  the  Middle 
Ages;  none,  too,  whose  rulers  more  stoutly  resisted  the 

*  "Huguenot"  is  an  old  French  word,  common  in  the  four- 
teenth and  fifteenth  centuries.  Its  application  to  the  French 
Reformers  is  thus  explained  by  Estienne:  "The  Protestants  of 
Tours  used  to  assemble  by  night  near  the  Gate  of  King  Hugo, 
whom  the  people  regarded  as  a  ghost.  Up  to  this  time  they  had 
teen  called  '  Lutherans/  but  a  monk  of  Tours  said  they  should 
be  called  Huguenots,  because  like  Hugo,  they  went  out  at  night. 
The  name  became  generally  used  from  the  year  1560." 

3 


4  FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM 

temporal  power  of  Rome.  The  Emperor  of  Germany 
might  go  to  Canossa  and  stand  for  three  days  barefoot 
in  the  snow  awaiting  the  Pope's  pleasure ;  not  so  a  King 
of  France.  When  Popes  undertook  to  curb  French  lib- 
erties it  appealed  to  Councils,  especially  to  that  of  Basle 
in  1431,  called  expressly  "to  reform  the  Church  in  its 
head  and  its  members";  and  after  seventeen  years  of 
struggle  France  won  in  1448  the  Pragmatic  Sanction 
w^hich  confirmed  the  age-long  Gallican  liberties — liberties 
which  to  the  very  beginning  of  the  present  century  have 
been  stoutly  defended  by  the  Catholic  Church  of  France. 

Pre-Reformation  Protestantism.  The  need  of  refor- 
mation, vaguely  felt  over  Europe,  had  been  poignantly 
recognized  in  France.  The  revival  of  the  religious  spirit 
which  appeared  with  the  first  intellectual  revivals  of  the 
thirteenth  century  in  reality  dated  back  to  the  Albigenses 
and  the  Waldensian  (Vaudois)  revival  of  the  twelfth 
century  in  Dauphiny,  and  to  the  translation  of  the  Bible 
into  the  Romansch  tongue  made  for  that  people.  Thus 
was  spread  abroad  through  France  the  idea  that  the  Bible 
is  the  supreme  authority  in  matters  of  faith. 

The  wonderful  influence  of  the  French  Bible  in  pre- 
paring the  soul  of  France  for  the  Reformation  has  hardly 
been  adequately  recognized.  Sixty  translations  from  the 
Vulgate,  either  in  part  or  in  full,  were  made  in  the  thir- 
teenth and  fourteenth  centuries,  and  after  the  invention 
of  printing,  the  Bible  became  the  most  popular  book  in 
France.  The  first  French  book  printed  in  France  was  a 
translation  (in  part  a  paraphrase)  of  the  Bible  by  two 
Augustinian  monks  in  1472. 

In  1334  two  scholars  who  had  studied  in  Paris  put 
forth  a  book  showing  that  all  civil  and  political  power 


FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM  5 

emanates  from  the  people ;  but  though  reforms  both  civil 
and  reHgious  were  urgently  called  for  during  these  cen- 
turies, there  could  be  no  Reformation  until  a  religions 
condition  had  been  created. 

In  no  figure  of  those  days  was  this  religious  condition 
more  truly  embodied  than  in  the  unlettered  peasant  girl 
of  Domremy,  Joan  of  Arc,  whom  Protestants  and  Cath- 
olics alike  now  revere  as  a  saint,  who  in  the  early  years 
of  the  fifteenth  century  impersonated  the  very  soul  of 
France,  and  was  a  true  precursor  of  the  Reformation. 

All  Europe  had  been  longing  for  a  religious  revival 
of  the  Church,  but  in  Spain  and  Italy  the  Inquisition  had 
killed  that  longing.  It  had  wellnigh  smothered  it  in 
France;  but  in  the  hearts  of  men  like  Brigonnet  and 
Gerson,  Lefevre  and  Farel  and  Viret  it  smouldered, 
finally  to  burst  out  in  a  flame  with  that  kindled  in  Ger- 
many by  Luther  and  in  Switzerland  by  Zwingli. 

The  French  Reformation,  then,  came  from  the  very 
heart  of  the  better  France.  It  was  not  a  revolt  against 
either  civil  or  religious  authority,  but  a  loyal  effort,  in 
the  name  of  both,  to  reform  the  existing  church  accord- 
ing to  the  type  and  spirit  of  the  primitive  church,  whose 
First  Council  (at  Jerusalem:  Acts  XV)  was  entirely 
democratic. 

Jacques  Lefevre.  The  first  book  inclining  toward 
evangelical  views  was  issued  in  France  in  1512,  five 
years  before  Luther's  protest  at  Wittenberg.  It  was  a 
Commentary  on  the  Epistles  of  St.  Paul,  written  by 
Jacques  Lefevre,  a  landed  proprietor  of  Etaples  in 
Picardy,  who  had  sold  his  estates  that  he  might  study 
in  Paris,  then  the  refuge  of  Greek  scholars  who  had 
fled  from  Constantinople  after  its  capture  by  the  Turks. 


6  FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM 

In  1509  (the  year  of  Calvin's  birth),  Lefevre  had  pub- 
lished his  Quintuple  Psalter,  in  which  he  had  here  and 
there  corrected  the  Latin  of  the  Vulgate  by  the  Greek 
Septuagint.  His  "Commentary  on  the  Epistles  of  Saint 
Paul,"  published  in  1512,  with  the  New  Testament  in 
French,  brought  out  in  I\Ieaux  in  1523,  taught  the  sover- 
eign authority  of  the  Word  of  God,  the  very  germ  of  the 
Reformation.  Luther  was  teaching  Lefevre's  Com- 
mentary in  Wittenberg  (as  was  Zwingli  in  Switzerland) 
before  he  broke  with  Rome.^ 

Among  Lefevre's  pupils  had  been  the  future  reformers, 
Farel  and  Brigonnet,  later  Bishop  of  Meaux.  In  1521, 
when  he  was  sixty  years  old,  Lefevre  was  called  to 
Meaux  by  Bishop  Brigonnet.  His  pupil,  WilHam  Farel, 
who  had  passed  through  religious  experiences  similar  to 
those  of  Luther,  and  whose  writings  had  incurred  the 
suspicion  of  the  Sorbonne,  was  also  there,  having  been 
saved  by  the  King  from  direct  condemnation.  At  the 
command  of  Francis  I,  Lefevre  undertook  to  translate 
the  New  Testament,  calling  to  his  aid  the  learned  Vatable 
and  the  pious  Gerard  Roussel. 

The  golden  age  of  the  French  Reformation  was  the 
period  between  1512  and  1523.  Claude,  wife  of  Francis 
I,  and  her  sister,  the  Duchess  of  Ferrara,  with  the  King's 
sister,  Marguerite  of  Valois,  had  been  reared  on  the 
teachings  of  Wyclif 's  Bible,  brought  to  the  court  by  their 
English  governess,  and  the  purity  which  had  reigned  in 
the  Court  under  the  Queen  and  her  wise  mother,  the 
saintly  Anne  of  Brittany,  had  prepared  the  way  for  the 
acceptance  of  the  Reformation  by  Francis  I  and  his  court. 

*  Luther's  copy  of  this  work  has  lately  been  found.  He  used 
it  in  lecturing  up  to  about  1516. 


FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM  7 

When  by  the  preaching  of  Lefevre,  Farel  and  Brigonnet 
and  their  followers  it  was  adopted  by  nobles  and  common 
people,  "swiftly,"  we  are  told,  "there  swept  over  the 
manufacturing  towns  a  reign  of  saintly  purity/'  Many 
clergy  and  even  bishops,  especially  of  Bordeaux  and 
other  parts  of  Southern  France,  joined  the  reform  move- 
ment; many  royal  and  municipal  functionaries,  many  in- 
tellectuals, regents  of  scholastic  institutions,  students, 
physicians,  apothecaries,  lawyers  and  men  of  all  trades 
and  occupations  adopted  the  new  ideas.  There  was  no 
break  with  the  Church,  the  entire  movement  was  one 
of  reform  within  the  Church.^ 

Francis  I,  becoming  aware  that  he  had  made  a  political 
blunder,  withdrew  from  the  movement  and  made  public 
expiation  at  the  door  of  Notre  Dame.  His  Chancellor 
Duprat,  the  theologians  of  the  Sorbonne,  Pope  Clement 
VII,  and  the  Councils  of  Paris  and  of  Tournon,  urged 
him  in  the  path  of  persecution,  and  in  1523  the  first 
martyr  of  the  Reformation,  Jean  Valliere,  an  Augustin- 
ian  monk,  who  like  other  Augustinians,  of  whom  was 
Martin  Luther,  had  a  mind  open  to  new  truth,  was 
burned  at  the  stake  in  Paris. 

The  Sorbonne  had  condemned  Lefevre's  Commentary 
and  now  forbade  him  to  translate  the  Bible,  but  he  sought 
refuge  at  the  court  of  the  King's  sister.  Marguerite, 
Queen  of  Navarre,  becoming  one  of  her  valets  de 
chamhre,  with  other  men  of  genius  who  had  espoused 

^  In  the  years  between  1519  and  1522  the  writings  of  Luther 
were  extensively  circulated  in  France.  His  works,  especially  his 
tract,  "On  the  Babylonish  Captivity  of  the  Church,"  pointed  the 
way  toward  separation  from  the  Church  of  Rome  as  a  necessary 
step  for  reformation.  His  writings  were  condemned  by  the 
Sorbonne  in  1521,  and  those  in  France  who  were  suspected  of 
sharing  his  views  were  branded  with  the  name  "Lutheran." 


8  FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM 

the  new  doctrines.  The  whole  Bible  from  the  original 
tongues  appeared  in  1530,  several  years  before  Luther's 
German  Bible.  The  eagerness  with  which  it  was  re- 
ceived by  the  French  people  is  seen  in  the  fact  that 
thirty-six  editions  of  various  parts  of  it  appeared  before 
1541,  twenty-three  being  of  the  New  Testament.  Even 
members  of  the  nobility  and  men  of  learning  became 
colporteurs  to  scatter  the  Word  of  God. 

Other  martyrdoms  followed.  Jacques  Ponant,  Jean 
Leclerc  and  Louis  de  Berquin,  *'the  honor  of  the  Court 
of  Francis  I,"  were  burned  with  others,  "mostly  noble- 
men," and  Brigonnet,  tried  by  the  Sorbonne,  withdrew 
from  the  movement.  Paris  had  already  become  "ac- 
customed to  martyrdom,"  when  in  1535  an  edict  ordered 
the  extermination  of  all  heretics.  Then  emigration 
began.  Clement  Marot,  the  poet  vx^ho  gave  to  the  Re- 
formed Church  that  version  of  the  Psalms  which  has 
been  its  song  through  all  its  history,  took  refuge  with  the 
French  Princess  Renee,  Duchess  of  Ferrara.  Fare! 
and  many  other  leaders  fled  to  Strassburg,  which  until 
better  times  became  the  refuge  of  victims  of  persecution. 
The  immediate  fruit  of  this  emigration  was  the  founding 
in  Strassburg  of  the  first  French  Reformed  Church,  with 
1,500  members,  all  refugees. 

Jean  Calvin.  Among  these  was  Jean  Calvin,  already, 
in  spite  of  his  extreme  youth,  a  notable  figure.  Born  at 
Noyon  in  1509,  he  was  studying  law  when  his  relative, 
the  learned  Olivetan,  a  Reformer,  gave  him  a  Bible  which 
profoundly  affected  his  views.  He  preached  to  large 
audiences  and  had  more  than  once  been  in  danger  of 
death,  before  he  sought  refuge  in  Strassburg.  Thence 
he  went  to  Basle,  where  at  the  age  of  twenty-four  he 


FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM  9 

published  in  1536  the  "Institutes  of  the  Christian  Reli- 
gion," prefaced  by  a  letter  to  Francis  I.  It  was  in  this 
year  that  Lefevre  died  at  Nerac,  being  past  eighty  years 
of  age. 

Leaving  Basle,  Calvin  settled  that  same  year  in  Geneva, 
where  he  was  made  pastor  and  professor  and  became 
writer,  catechist,  magistrate  and  legal  adviser  of  all  the 
Reformed  Church.  Thousands  fled  from  France  to 
Geneva  and  found  an  asylum  prepared  for  them  by 
Calvin,  but  it  was  those  who  remained  behind  who  were 
his  peculiar  care.  His  writings  to  them,  tracts,  sermons, 
answers  to  the  questions  of  the  Sorbonne,  personal  let- 
ters, could  be  counted  by  thousands,  and  in  the  midst  of 
persecution  he  organized,  from  Geneva,  the  first  Re- 
formed Church  in  France,  that  of  Paris  in  1540,  in  which, 
says  a  Catholic  writer,  "Christianity  returned  to  its  primi- 
tive innocence."  A  prodigious  worker,  but  always  out  of 
health,  Calvin  died  in  1564  at  the  age  of  fifty-five,  after 
organizing  a  religio-civil  system  which  has  become  the 
norm  of  democratic  governments. 

Spread  of  the  Reformation.  With  the  accession  of 
Henry  II  in  1547,  the  Reformation  overspread  France, 
especially  the  Southern  provinces.  "Then,"  writes  "the 
Huguenot  potter"  Palissy,  "might  be  seen  on  Sundays 
bands  of  work  people  walking  cheerfully  in  the  meadows, 
groves  and  fields,  singing  spiritual  songs  together  or  read- 
ing to  one  another  from  the  sacred  volume,  boys  with 
their  teachers  full  of  the  steadfast  purpose  to  lead  a 
noble  life." 

Men  and  women  of  high  standing,  attracted  by  the 
religious  and  moral  character  of  Calvinism,  and  led  by 
the  Chatillons  (one  of  them  Gaspard  de  Coligny)  and 


10         FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM 

Jeanne  d'Albret.  Queen  of  Navarre,  joined  the  move- 
ment. In  the  court  the  Psahns  of  Clement  Marot  be- 
came fashionable.  As  the  courtiers  walked  abroad  on 
summer  evenings  they  would  make  the  air  resound  with 
them,  sung  to  the  four  part  harmonies  of  Goudimel. 

The  Montbeliard  country  in  Eastern  France  was 
strongly  impressed  by  the  Reformation.  In  1559  the 
Ecclesiastical  Warrant  paid  particular  attention  to  edu- 
cation, laying  down  principles  still  valid  and  in  operation. 
"The  object  of  education  is  to  make  worthy  men  who 
shall  be  useful  to  the  Church  and  to  the  Christian  Re- 
pubHc."  For  the  time  ^Montbeliard  became  the  intellec- 
tual center  of  France;  printing  was  greatly  developed 
there;  in  the  latter  part  of  the  century  it  came  to  be 
one  of  the  chief  industrial  regions  of  France. 

But  Henri  II  became  a  persecutor,  and  in  1549  the 
chambre  ardente  was  formed  for  the  trial  of  heresy. 
Under  persecution  the  churches  became  only  the  more 
numerous,  women  suffering  no  less  than  men. 

In  1559,  the  year  of  Henri's  death,  Calvin's  influence 
becoming  ever  more  marked,  the  Consistory  of  Paris 
convoked  the  first  General  Synod  of  Reformed  Churches, 
with  fifteen  churches  represented  by  pastors  and  elders. 

This  handful  of  obscure  men,  of  whom  only  the  names 
are  known,  drew  up  and  accepted  with  one  accord  the 
Confession  of  Faith  which  for  nearly  three  centuries  was 
that  of  the  Reformed  churches,  and  a  discipline  modeled 
on  that  of  Calvin  at  Geneva,  which  has  become  the  model 
for  all  churches  of  the  Presbyterian  order.  At  the  Con- 
ference of  Poissy  in  1561  Beza  addressed  congregations 
in  Paris  which  were  variously  estimated  at  from  8,000 
to  40,000.     In  1562  Coligny  gave  to  the  Queen  Regent  a 


FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM  11 

list  of  2,150  Reformed  churches,  each  having  its  own 
minister,  and  the  learned  Chancellor  Michel  L'Hopital 
estimated  that  the  number  of  Huguenots  was  as  one  to 
three  of  the  population.  It  included  some  of  the  noblest 
Frenchmen  of  the  time,  Coligny,  Duplessis-Mornay,  Am- 
broise  Pare,  father  of  modern  surgery,  Olivier  de  Serres, 
whose  enlightened  agricultural  methods  created  the  rural 
wealth  of  France,  Jean  Cousin,  Hotman,  and  many 
others.  The  Bourbons,  Montmorencys  and  Chatillons, 
all  of  royal  lineage,  had  joined  the  movement  before  the 
Guises  came  into  power  with  Francis  II  in  1559. 

Wars  of  Religion.  The  Guises,  now  upheld,  now 
opposed  by  the  Regent  Catherine  de  Medici,  were  bitter 
enemies  alike  to  reformation  and  toleration,  and  though 
Catherine  had  granted  to  the  Protestants  "the  precarious 
freedom  of  the  Edict  of  January"  (1561),  the  Guises,  by 
the  counter  stroke  of  the  massacre  at  Vassy  in  1562  gave 
the  signal  for  civil  war.  Under  the  leadership  of  Coligny 
the  first  of  the  Seven  Wars  of  Religion  broke  out. 
Conde,  with  other  Huguenot  leaders,  declaring  that  "they 
could  no  longer  hope  except  in  God  and  His  arms," 
signed  a  manifesto  affirming  loyalty  to  the  King  (then 
the  child  Charles  IX)  and  stating  that  it  was  "as  loyal 
subjects  that  they  were  forced  to  take  up  arms."  It  was 
a  war  for  liberty  of  conscience,  and  for  more  than  thirty 
years  the  history  of  the  Huguenots  (first  so  called  in 
1560)  was  one  with  the  history  of  France.  A  confused 
history  it  was,  of  secret  machinations,  broken  treaties, 
assassinations,  heroic  conflicts  and  defeats  hardly  less 
glorious  than  victories,  with  brief  intervals  of  peace.^ 

*  A  typical  hero  of  these  wars  was  the  long  forgotten  Agrippa 
d'Aubigne.     At  the  age  of  ten  years  condemned  to  the  stake, 


12         FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM 

In  this  struggle  no  name  stands  forth  more  promi- 
nently than  that  of  Jeanne  d'Albret,  Queen  of  Navarre. 
Like  her  mother  Marguerite  of  Valois,  learned,  pious,  a 
poet  and  a  scholar,  staunch  friend  of  the  Reformation 
and  her  Court  the  asylum  of  persecuted  Protestants,  she 
was  a  statesman  where  her  mother  was  wise  only  by  a 
woman's  loving  intuition.  When  the  religious  wars  broke 
out  she  raised  an  army  and  came  to  the  aid  of  the  Prot- 
estants, baffling  the  intrigues  of  the  Guises  and  the  Queen 
Regent.  When  at  the  death  of  Conde  the  Protestant 
cause  seemed  desperate  she  came  to  Coligny  in  his  camp, 
bringing  in  either  hand  a  youth  of  fifteen,  her  nephew, 
son  of  the  slaughtered  Conde,  and  her  own  fatherless 
son,  Henri,  the  hope  of  Navarre  and  the  future  King 
of  France.  These  boys,  brought  up  by  her  in  all  hardi- 
hood and  manly  practices  and  inspired  with  high  and 
noble  principles,  gave  new  life  to  the  army  and  new  hope 
to  the  cause.  To  Jeanne  d'Albret,  more  than  to  any 
other,  was  due  the  peace  of  St.  Germain  by  which  in 
1570  the  right  of  public  worship  was  conceded  to  the 
Protestants,  their  confiscated  property  restored,  and  all 
criminal  sentences  against  them  repealed.  It  was  in  the 
interval  of  peace  thus  gained  that  the  massacre  of  St. 
Bartholomew,  August  24,  1572,  laid  the  noble  Coligny 
low,  and  reduced  the  number  of  Protestants  by  thousands. 

Gaspard  de  Coligny,  whom  Americans  should  hold  in 

"the  horror  of  the  mass  eclipsed  that  of  the  fire,"  and  he 
danced  a  fandango  while  waiting  for  the  executioner  to  come 
with  his  torch.  Rescued  from  this  peril  and  committed  to  a 
guardian,  at  the  age  of  thirteen  he  ran  away  in  his  nightgown 
to  joiri  the  army  of  the  reformers,  and  from  that  time  was  the 
indomitable  champion  of  reform,  the  faithful,  incorruptible,  but 
most  inconvenient  friend  of  Henry  of  Navarre,  to  whose  cause 
he  gave  thirty  years  of  valiant  service. 


FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM  13 

memory  as  having  founded  the  first  colony  in  the  New 
World  (in  Brazil),  as  well  as  the  first  in  what  is  now 
the  United  States,  was  the  type  of  the  Huguenot  states- 
man and  general.  Loyal  to  his  earthly  king  and  pas- 
sionately patriotic,  his  prudence,  caution  and  wonderful 
endurance,  his  indomitable  courage  and  hopefulness, 
were  equaled  by  his  broad  tolerance.  His  daughter,  the 
beautiful  Louise  de  Teligny,  who  escaped  by  a  miracle 
from  the  massacre  of  St.  Bartholomew,  and  alone  and 
on  foot  made  her  way  to  her  father's  castle  to  warn  its 
inmates  to  flee,  later  did  noble  service  to  the  Protestant 
cause  as  the  wife  of  WilHam  the  Silent,  Prince  of 
Orange. 

It  was  after  the  hideous  treachery  of  St.  Bartholo- 
mew's night  that  the  Huguenots  formed  a  political  party. 
Definitely  constituted  at  La  Rochelle  in  1588,  it  held  to- 
gether through  all  the  subsequent  Wars  of  Religion 
until  the  final  peace  of  1629,  under  Louis  XIII.  While 
obedient  to  the  laws  of  the  realm,  among  themselves 
the  Huguenots  formed  "a  kind  of  republic  with  its  own 
laws,  dealing  with  civil  government,  justice,  war,  com- 
merce and  finance.  They  had  a  president,  called  Pro- 
tector of  the  Churches,  an  office  held  by  Conde  and  later 
by  the  King  of  Navarre  until  the  day  when  he  became 
Henri  IV." 

On  his  death  bed  Henri  III  had  made  his  cousin,  Henri 
of  Navarre,  his  successor,  but  it  was  not  without  a 
struggle  that  the  latter  triumphed  over  the  League  which 
sought  to  prevent  his  succession  and  entered  Paris  in 
1594.  In  1598  he  signed  the  Edict  of  Nantes,  "by  which 
after  forty  years  of  strife  the  Reformers  through  their 
constancy  obtained  peace." 


II 


FROM  THE  PUBLICATION  OF  THE  EDICT  OF 
NANTES  TO  ITS  REVOCATION 

1598-1685 

By  the  Edict  of  Nantes  all  former  treaties  between 
Catholics  and  Protestants  were  confirmed,  verdicts  for 
past  offences  were  annulled,  prisoners  and  galley  slaves 
were  set  free,  and  Huguenots  restored  to  full  rights  of 
citizenship.  Yet  in  the  matter  of  public  worship  they 
were  still  subordinate,  for  while  Catholic  worship  was 
permitted  in  all  Protestant  towns,  Protestant  worship 
was  forbidden  in  Paris,  and  limited  to  other  towns  where 
it  had  once  been  publicly  established.^ 

This  Edict  was  recorded  by  all  provincial  Parliaments 
as  "perpetual  and  irrevocable,"  and  was  so  sworn  to  by 
all  the  courts,  governors,  magistrates  and  principal  citi- 
zens of  the  realm.     After  the  death  of  Henri  IV,  the 

^  The  Edict  has  been  celebrated  as  one  of  the  first  victories  of 
toleration  and  liberty.  But  in  fact  it  entailed  disastrous  conse- 
quences for  the  future  development  of  Protestantism  in  France. 
The  Protestant  creed,  in  spite  of  persecutions,  wars  and  the 
massacre  of  St.  Bartholomew,  was  so  well  rooted  in  France  that 
in  1598  there  were  more  than  300  towns  or  villages  and  some 
2,000  parishes  where  mass  had  not  been  celebrated  for  many 
years.  The  Edict  of  Nantes  re-established  mass  everywhere,  and 
on  the  other  hand,  assigned  limits  to  the  number  of  towns, 
parishes  or  castles,  where  the  Reformed  worship  had  a  right 
to  be  observed. 


FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM  15 

Regent,  Marie  de  Medici,  declared  in  the  King's  name 
that  the  observance  of  the  Edict  had  "established  secure 
tranquillity  among  his  subjects:  Wherefore  ...  al- 
though this  Edict  is  perpetual  and  irrevocable,  and  .  .  . 
need  not  be  confirmed,  still  .  .  .  be  it  known,  said  and 
ordered  that  the  aforesaid  Edict  .  .  .  shall  be  main- 
tained and  held  inviolable." 

Notwithstanding  the  brave  victories  of  Henri  of 
Navarre  and  his  followers,  perhaps  because  of  their  fear- 
ful cost,  he  had  been  able  to  enter  Paris  as  King  only 
at  the  price  of  professed  allegiance  to  Catholicism. 
"Paris  is  after  all  v/orth  a  mass,  in  spite  of  the  advice 
and  prayers  of  my  faithful  Huguenots,"  he  said,  as  he 
passed  through  the  gates  on  May  22,  1594,  and  though 
his  heart  was  with  his  Huguenots,  and  within  four  years 
he  signed  the  Edict  in  their  behalf,  his  recantation  chilled 
the  Protestantism  of  many  of  his  noble  adherents,  who 
followed  him  into  the  Catholic  Church.  Still  the  cause 
of  Reform  prospered;  during  this  reign  and  until  1650 
there  were  806  Protestant  churches,  many  of  them  with 
thousands  of  members  and  several  pastors  and  "an- 
nexes," divided  into  16  provinces  and  62  conferences, 
each  holding  its  local  and  provincial  synods  and  meeting 
in  General  Assembly.  Two  delegates  to  the  latter  were 
chosen  to  reside  near  the  King  between  sessions. 

The  assassination  of  Henri  IV  in  1610  gave  the  signal 
for  a  reaction.  The  years  that  follow^ed  were  years  of 
offences  against  the  spirit  of  the  Edict  followed  by  Prot- 
estant uprisings  and  short  periods  of  concession.  In 
1619  when  the  double  marriage  of  the  Royal  House  with 
the  House  of  Austria  aroused  discontent  throughout  the 
realm,  Conde  issued  a  call  to  revolt,  and  Protestants  and 


16         FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM 

Catholics  once  more  met  on  the  field  in  the  brief  Sixth 
War  of  Religion,  soon  closed  by  the  treaty  of  Loudun. 
The  government  again  attempted  to  break  down  the  Prot- 
estant organization  and  the  kingdom  once  more  became 
aroused.  On  May  10,  1621,  the  Huguenots  signed  a 
"Declaration  of  Independence,"  which  gave  the  signal 
for  the  Seventh  War  of  Religion,  though  all  France  in- 
dignantly protested  against  the  King  taking  up  arms. 
La  Rochelle,  the  chief  city  of  Protestantism,  fell  after  a 
siege  rendered  forever  famous  by  the  heroism  of  its 
defenders  and  its  mayor.  Since  1568  it  had  been  an 
independent  and  sovereign  city,  but  it  was  now  restored 
to  the  King  by  the  treaty  of  Alais,  which  in  1629  marked 
the  end  of  the  civil  wars.  An  Edict  of  Grace  was  pro- 
claimed, in  v/hich  Richelieu  granted  the  ITuguenots  free 
exercise  of  their  religion  and  maintained  the  organization 
of  the  Reformed  Church;  but  he  demolished  the  strong 
places  of  the  Huguenots  and  interdicted  their  political 
assemblies,  and  they  ceased  to  be  a  body  in  the  State. 

A  new  era  was  now  inaugurated  for  the  French  Refor- 
mation. Having  become  impoverished  and  having  lost 
many  leaders  among  the  nobility,  the  Huguenots  gave 
themselves  to  agriculture,  commerce  and  industry,  and 
became  increasingly  prosperous  all  over  the  realm.  They 
entered  all  liberal  careers,  became  physicians  and  advo- 
cates, and  in  the  next  reign  contributed  lareely  to  that 
literature  which  was  the  glory  of  the  Age  of  Louis  XIV. 
But  Loviis  XIII  began  a  screwing  process,  gradually  with- 
drawing their  liberties  and  destroying  their  "temples." 
The  Huguenots  made  only  a  moral  resistance,  and  in 
1643  the  King  again  granted  to  them  "the  free  and  un- 
restricted exercise  of  their  religion,"  confirming  the  Edict 


FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM  17 

of  Nantes.  In  that  year  the  King  died  and  the  infant 
Louis  XIV  came  to  the  throne,  but  the  Regent  Anne  of 
Austria  confirmed  the  Edict  in  his  name,  the  Synods 
asserting  absolute  loyalty  to  the  young  King.  In  1652 
Louis  XIV  confirmed  it,  IMazarin  saying,  "the  rather 
that  the  said  subjects  have  given  him  certain  proofs  of 
their  affection  and  fidelity."  But  when  he  came  of  age 
(at  fourteen),  Louis  XIV  began  a  judicial  war  which 
lasted  more  than  twenty  years,  being  encouraged  by  the 
clergy,  the  Bishop  of  Comminges  protesting  to  the  King 
against  ''this  unhappy  liberty  of  conscience  that  destroys 
the  liberties  of  the  children  of  God."  All  churches  built 
since  the  Edict  were  declared  "informal"  and  demolished, 
and  "legal"  churches  were  forced  to  close  their  annexes, 
children  were  taken  from  their  parents  and  shut  up  in 
convents  to  be  baptized  and  educated,  while  those  left 
with  their  parents  might  be  educated  only  in  the  rudi- 
ments. Many  forced  baptisms  of  adults  occurred.  More 
than  four  hundred  proclamations  were  issued  attacking 
the  Huguenots  in  their  domestic  and  civil  functions,  their 
property  rights  and  liberty  of  conscience.  Marriage  cere- 
monies performed  by  pastors  were  declared  invalid  and 
children's  property  confiscated.  Many  abjured  solely  in 
order  to  be  able  to  contract  legal  marriage.  The  long 
lists  of  "new  converts"  from  the  "R.  P.  R."  (religion 
pretendue  Reformee,  "so-called  Reformed  Religion," 
as  it  is  called  in  all  public  documents)  form  the  most 
pathetic  documents  of  Huguenot  history. 

Finding  all  these  measures  futile  to  work  the  destruc- 
tion of  the  Reform,  in  1683  Louis  XIV  instituted  the 
dragonnades,  that  "booted  mission"  which  brought  ever- 
lasting infamy  upon  his  name.     The  hellish  atrocities 


18         FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM 

practiced  upon  the  persons  of  women  and  children  by 
the  cruel  dragoons  quartered  upon  Huguenots  and  given 
free  license,  hardly  bear  repetition. 

Then  began  that  "honorable  peregrination"  during 
which  the  persecuted  Huguenots  found  a  home  in  other 
lands  and  France  lost  500,000  of  her  best  citizens.  For- 
bidden by  law  to  leave  the  country,  and  subjected  to  the 
severest  penalties  if  detected  in  the  attempt  to  emigrate, 
the  hardships  which  they  underwent  were  indescribable.^ 

If  detected  in  attempted  flight  the  penalties  were  severe. 
Both  men  and  women  were  shipped  to  the  West  Indies  to 
be  sold  as  slaves.  Men  were  sent  to  the  galleys,  women, 
after  ferocious  indignities,  to  lifelong  imprisonment  in 
the  Tower  of  Constance  in  the  Mediterranean  marshes. 
Even  bishops  of  the  Catholic  Church  were  moved  to  pity 
by  these  heroically  endured  sufferings.  One  writes, 
"What  a  disadvantage  to  the  provinces,  depopulated  as 
they  are  by  a  long  and  cruel  war,  is  the  evasion  of  so 
many  subjects  whose  much  fried  fidelity  zve  must  own."  ^ 

^  Women  of  rank,  even  to  seventy  years  of  age,  who  had  never 
before  set  foot  on  the  ground,  traveled  eighty  or  one  hundred 
leagues  on  foot  among  rocks  and  forests,  through  marsh  and 
snow,  wading  breast  high  through  icy  torrents,  performing 
prodigies  of  courage.  Women  disguised  themselves  as  men, 
took  the  dress  of  lacqueys  and  followed  on  foot  through  mud 
and  mire  a  man  of  the  family  who  personated  the  master. 
Girls  of  fifteen  or  sixteen  trundled  wheelbarrows,  they  carried 
baskets  of  manure,  they  disfigured  their  faces,  they  feigned  to 
be  ill,  mute  or  mad.  Two  sisters  were  shipped  to  England  in 
empty  casks  supposed  to  be  filled  with  apples,  being  without 
food  or  drink  for  several  days.  So  common  indeed  was  this 
method  of  evasion  that  orders  were  given  to  fumigate  the  holds 
of  all  vessels  with  deadly  gas.  The  tortures  of  mind  endured  by 
the  fathers  of  families  in  these  evasions  are  well  described  in 
the  well-known  narrative  of  Jacques  Fontaine,  ancestor  of  the 
Maury  family  of  this  country. 

-  The  Huguenots  were  men  of  integrity,  energy,  economy  and 
benevolence.    "Honest  as  a  Huguenot"  was  a  common  saying. 


FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM  19 

Archbishop  Le  Tellier  of  Rheims  endeavored  to  per- 
suade the  government  that  a  degree  of  tolerance  and  the 
slow  influence  of  time  were  the  only  means  to  resolve 
the  Protestant  question.  Yet  Le  Tellier  rejoiced  when 
on  October  15,  1685,  the  Edict  of  Nantes  was  revoked 
on  the  ground  that  there  were  no  more  Protestants  in 
France,  and  a  Te  Deum  was  sung  in  Rome  to  celebrate 
the  event.  By  this  Act  all  Huguenot  houses  of  worship 
were  razed,  their  four  richly  endowed  academies  de- 
stroyed, their  schools  closed,  their  poor  funds  confiscated 
and  seven  hundred  pastors  were  given  two  weeks  to 
abjure  or  leave  the  country. 

A  beautiful  illustration  of  their  honesty  is  told  in  connection 
with  the  Great  Elector  of  Brandenburg.  The  Elector  one  day 
surprised  his  wife  in  the  act  of  giving  the  crown  jewels  to  a 
stranger.  In  astonishment,  he  asked  who  the  man  was.  She 
replied :  *T  do  not  know  his  name,  but  I  know  that  he  is  a 
Huguenot."  That  was  enough ;  a  Huguenot's  word  was  as  good 
as  his  bond.  In  Friederichsdorf,  near  Frankfort,  there  has  not 
been  in  the  history  of  the  Huguenot  Church  for  200  years  one 
illegitimate  birth.  It  was  the  custom  of  the  Huguenots  to  give 
largely  to  benevolence.  When  they  died,  they  always  left  some- 
thing to  their  church.  The  result  was  that  in  Germany  there 
are  a  number  of  Huguenot  churches,  whose  congregations  hav- 
ing become  German  have  disbanded,  but  very  considerable  funds 
left  by  bequest  to  the  church  still  remain. 


Ill 


FROM  THE  REVOCATION  TO  THE  RESTORA- 
TION OF  PROTESTANTISM  IN  FRANCE 

1685-1787 

The  Revocation  was  inevitable  in  a  kingdom  whose 
ruler  and  chief  ministers,  Louis  XIV,  Colbert  and 
Louvois,  found  Protestantism  a  "non-sens,"  incompatible 
with  the  dignity  of  a  realm  which  claimed  to  be  the 
Kingdom  of  God  and  the  domain  of  a  single  person,  his 
representative,  the  Sun-King. 

For  France  the  act  was  most  disastrous:  she  lost  100 
millions  in  money,  12,000  soldiers,  9,000  sailors,  and  600 
officers,  among  them  some  of  her  bravest ;  lost  many  of 
her  flourishing  manufactures,  while  certain  trades  were 
ruined.  Some  parts  of  the  Kingdom  were  in  a  measure 
depopulated.  The  Protestants  fled  to  Switzerland,  Ger- 
many, Holland,  England,  the  American  Colonies,  even  to 
the  Cape  of  Good  Hope.  From  that  day  the  fortunes  of 
Louis  the  Great,  who  aspired  to  be  the  conqueror  of 
Europe,  declined.  The  Edict  of  Revocation  deprived 
him  of  his  Protestant  allies,  whom  he  greatly  needed  to 
offset  the  growing  power  of  Austria  and  Spain.  All  the 
strength  and  wealth  that  he  had  lost  went  to  build  up 
rival  nations,  Protestant  England,  the  Netherlands  and 
Germany.^ 

^  That  activity  of  mind  in  theology  and  philosophy  which  was 
a  glory  of  the  age  was  checked  in  France  only  to  find  its  oppor- 


FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM  21 

The  Edict  of  Revocation  banished  pastors  and  put 
down  preaching.  Lay  persons,  however,  were  permitted 
to  remain  and,  indeed,  even  prohibited  from  emigrating, 
as  this  had  already  greatly  weakened  the  nation.  They 
might  carry  on  their  business  unmolested,  but  they  might 
not  hold  public  worship.  A  great  number  of  Protestants 
understood  this  to  mean  that  abjuration  was  not  neces- 
sary so  long  as  they  held  no  public  worship,  and  were  in 
no  haste  to  abjure.  Persecutions  were  therefore  again 
resumed — power  being  given  to  ecclesiastics  to  intervene 
at  their  own  judgment. 

Thus  the  Edict  of  Revocation  established  in  France 
neither  peace  nor  religious  unity.  The  Huguenots  had 
abjured  only  with  the  lips,  and  though  half  a  million  of 
them  had  fled,  another  half  million  remained  to  form 
within  the  Church  to  which  they  had  nominally  adhered 
a  refractory  group,  the  "Newly  Converted,"  upon  whom 
neither  the  ceremonies  of  the  Church  nor  the  priests  had 
any  hold.  Within  two  years  after  the  Edict  of  Revoca- 
tion a  large  number  of  "New  Converts"  signed  a  paper 
to  the  effect  that  they  had  never  approved  of  the  Catholic 
Church  which  they  had  been  constrained  to  enter,  that 
the  doctrine  of  the  "so-called  Reformed  Religion"  would 
always  be  theirs,  and  that,  detesting  their  former  weak- 
ness, they  were  resolved  to  glorify  God  in  the  future, 
while  protesting  before  God  their  fidelity  to  the  King, 
"our  only  and  legitimate  earthly  sovereign."  At  terrible 
risk  a  few  pastors  remained  or  secretly  returned.  Large 
rewards  had  been  offered  to  pastors  who  would  abjure, 
and  many  of  those  who  lived  too  far  from  the  frontier 

tunity  in  foreign  lands.     This  was  a  loss  to  the  nation  which 
was  not  realized  at  the  time. 


22         FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM 

to  reach  it  in  fifteen  days,  or  who  had  aged  parents  or 
children  over  seven  years  of  age  whom  they  might  not 
take  with  them,  did  abjure,  to  the  number,  it  is  said,  of 
120,  many  of  them  under  torture.  Some  of  these  at 
last  escaped,  and  were  reinstated  in  other  countries. 
Many  reached  safety  in  utter  destitution/ 

In  Frankfort  there  is  a  Hst  of  97,816  poor  fugitives 
who  were  helped  in  the  years  between  1686  and  1705, 
and  in  1685,  the  very  year  of  the  Revocation,  75,000 
exiles  were  inscribed  on  the  lists  of  the  Walloon 
Qiurches  of  Holland. 

The  exiled  pastors  wrote  letters  to  their  flocks,  and 
even  came  back  disguised  as  merchants,  as  masons,  as 
journeymen  of  various  trades,  *'to  seduce  the  newly  con- 
verted and  prevent  their  being  taught  in  the  true  faith," 
wrote  one  ecclesiastic.  At  a  time  when  it  was  a  capital 
offence  to  sing  a  psalm,  read  a  sermon  or  a  page  of  the 
Bible  even  at  home  and  alone,  and  when  strict  requisition 
was  made  for  Protestant  books,  the  "Newly  Converted" 
took  great  risks  to  procure  such  books. ^  "New  Con- 
verts" came  to  be  looked  upon  with  suspicion,  were  over- 
whelmed with  taxes,  forbidden  to  travel  without  a  special 
license,  with  other  serious  disabilities. 

Though  now  without  pastors  or  "temples,"  the  faithful 
held  clandestine  meetings  in  many  parts  of  the  realm,  in 
Normandy,  Champagne,  Saintonge,  the  Ile-de-France, 
Orleans,  and  especially  in  the  Cevennes  mountains  in 

*  Pastor  Jacolet  of  Vassy  wrote  to  his  brother-in-law,  a 
refugee  in  London,  *T  have  not  even  a  coat:  I  am  at  Heidelberg 
like  Adam  in  the  Garden  of  Eden,  only  without  his  innocence." 

*  A  bill  of  lading  was  recently  found  in  Amsterdam  of  589 
hogsheads  containing  Bibles,  sermons  and  controversial  books 
shipped  to  a  firm  of  "New  Converts"  in  Paris. 


Tower  of  Constance  where  Huguenot  Women  were  imprisoned. 


FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM  21 

Languedoc.  They  met  in  manor  houses,  in  barns,  in 
open  fields,  and  in  the  wild  mountain  gorges  and  great 
caves  of  the  Cevennes.  They  were  tracked  like  smug- 
glers, shot  like  bandies,  sent  to  prison  or  to  the  galleys, 
but  they  never  flinched.  The  dragonnades  were  resumed 
in  1697,  and  the  chasse  aux  Huguenots  (hunting  of 
Huguenots)  through  the  trackless  forests  of  the  Cevennes- 
became  a  favorite  pastime  with  the  friends  of  the  cruel 
Lamoignon  de  Baville,  Intendant  of  Languedoc.  When 
a  gathering  was  discovered  the  most  cruel  measures  were 
taken.  This  "desert  period"  is  one  of  the  most  tragic- 
Ml  the  history  of  Protestantism,  as  it  is  one  of  the  most 
heroic.  Many  Huguenots  who  had  escaped  to  Switzer- 
land came  back  and  joined  their  brethren  of  "the  Church 
under  the  Cross." 

There  being  no  longer  any  pastors,  "preachers"  began 
to  take  their  places,  generally  men  of  small  education  but 
of  a  fiery  zeal  which  inflamed  all  their  hearers.  "Ardor 
and  necessity  forced  them  not  to  make  a  point  of  ordina- 
tion ;  persons  of  all  degrees  and  both  sexes  took  up  these 
functions,  scholars,  tradesmen,  carpenters,  wool  carders, 
peasants,  even  children  who  had  memory  enough  to  learn 
little  sermons  by  heart  and  courage  enough  to  recite 
them."  Women  exhorters  appeared.  Anne  Montjoye,  a 
peasant,  could  not  read  but  had  a  great  memory :  urged 
by  zeal  she  learned  to  read,  and  held  meetings,  exhorted 
and  prayed.  She  was  arrested,  and  refusing  to  change 
her  religion,  was  condemned  to  death.  So  many  in  fact 
were  arrested  that  the  Intendant  Baville  sought  instruc- 
tions from  his  King,  who  replied,  "His  Majesty  thinks 
that  it  does  not  promote  his  purpose  to  dispense  entirely 
with  the  declaration  w^hich  condemns  to  death  all  attend- 


24         FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM 

ants  at  assemblies.  Put  two  of  the  most  guilty  to  death, 
and  send  all  the  other  men  to  the  galleys.  If  no  one 
knows  who  are  the  most  guilty  let  lots  be  drawn  for 
them." 

Secret  committees  of  emigrants  in  Holland,  Switzer- 
land and  England  sought  for  ''candidates  for  martyrdom" 
to  send  them  back  to  France.  Enthusiasm  increased; 
children  uttered  prophecies,  heavenly  voices  were  heard 
chanting  in  the  air  those  Psalms  which  for  long  years  the 
Huguenots  had  been  forbidden  to  sing,  and  which  fell 
like  dew  upon  their  thirsty  souls.  Then  the  sound  of 
drums  was  heard,  the  challenge  of  the  trumpet,  the  click- 
ing of  arms,  the  summons  to  a  holy  war.  The  desperate 
outbreak  of  the  Camisards  was  the  natural  product  of 
such  ecstasies,  but  it  was  no  mere  hysterical  uprising. 
The  cruelties  of  the  Intendant  and  his  assistants  left 
hardly  an  alternative  to  men  of  honor. 

Mothers  assembling  their  children  and  the  aged  men 
would  go  by  night  for  leagues  into  "the  desert,"  there  to 
of¥er  up  prayers  for  the  success  of  the  "Children  of 
God."  On  Palm  Sunday  of  1703  nearly  three  hundred 
were  assembled  in  an  old  mill  when  they  were  surprised 
by  troopers  and  put  to  fire  and  sword. 

Acts  like  this  brought  on  the  Camisard  War.  The 
outbreak  was  headed  by  Jean  Cavalier,  a  youth  of  twenty 
around  whom  gathered  a  large  troop,  with  leaders  such 
as  Roland,  ardent  with  despair  and  strong  for  any  en- 
durance. A  party  of  these  Camisards  broke  into  the 
house  of  Abbe  du  Chayla,  notorious  as  a  torturer,  and 
slaughtered  him  in  the  night.  Knowing  the  region  as  the 
soldiers  of  the  King  did  not,  its  forests,  glens,  ravines, 


FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM  25 

caves,  its  almost  impregnable  heights,  they  were  able  for 
years  to  carry  on  the  unequal  contest.^ 

There  were  those  in  exile  who  encouraged  them.  The 
learned  Pastor  Jurieu,  early  herald  of  the  rights  of  man, 
from  his  retreat  in  Holland  sent  out  broadsides  of  pro- 
tests against  the  encroachments  on  rights  and  liberties — 
protests  which  reached  the  eyes  of  the  King.  The  emi- 
nent lawyer,  Claude  Brousson,  also  in  exile,  went  him- 
self to  the  spiritual  help  of  the  men  of  the  Desert  in 
1692  and  took  orders  as  a  pastor,  affirming  that  "this  is 
neither  by  the  order  nor  the  counsel  of  any  foreign 
power,  directly  nor  indirectly  .  ,  .  but  solely  by  the 
movement  of  the  Spirit  of  God  upon  his  conscience." 
For  the  returning  exiles  were  most  unjustly  charged  with 
being  emissaries  of  the  Protestant  powers,  all  of  whom 
had  become  enemies  of  the  "Sun  King."  With  his  col- 
league Vivens,  also  a  lawyer,  Claude  Brousson  wrought 
mightily. 

In  the  end  the  Camisard  uprising  was  put  down  and 
nearly  all  its  leaders  executed.- 

^  A  cave  is  shown  in  the  Cevennes  mountains,  a  frequent  place 
of  refuge,  which  is  accessible  only  by  a  rope  suspended  along 
the  face  of  a  precipice. 

'  "Roland,  with  the  figure  of  an  archangel  and  the  eyes  of  a 
warrior,  Esprit  Seguier,  poinard  in  hand,  implacable.  La  Quote, 
whose  'hardened  heart,'  said  the  priest  Louvreland  who  stood  by, 
*could  not  be  broken  by  the  torture  that  broke  his  bones,'  Caste- 
net,  heavy  and  deformed,  Ravenel,  lean  and  squint,  Abraham 
Mazel,  imperturbable,  Vivens,  'the  roaring  lion,'  noblest  soul  that 
his  Aigoual  country  has  ever  seen,  devoured  by  the  imperious 
ardors  of  his  soul  and  killed  with  arms  in  his  hand,  Claude 
Brousson,  the  mystic  dove,  patient  and  serene,  martyrs  of  Jesus, 
saints  of  God,  all  of  these  more  beautiful — going  to  the  gibbet 
as  to  a  festival,  their  scarlet  martyr  gowns  fluttering  in  the  wind 
— than  ever  they  had  been  before." 


26         FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM 

For  years  a  system  of  persecution,  more  complete  than 
any  that  had  preceded  it,  had  followed  Protestants  from 
birth  until  death  and  even  burial.  There  was  no  way  of 
escape:  every  parish  had  its  priest  and  missionaries,  the 
smallest  town  its  garrison,  spies  were  everywhere.  The 
memoirs  that  have  come  down  from  that  time  are  tragic 
reading.  Only  in  Languedoc  had  there  been  any  resist- 
ance: these  rude  mountaineers,  Bible  in  hand,  dared 
resist  the  triple  menace  of  the  priest,  the  Intendant  and 
the  executioner. 

The  Camisard  war  was  long  over  ;  the  leaders  had  been 
put  to  a  dreadful  death  and  none  dared  lift  a  voice  or  at- 
tend a  Desert  meeting.  The  realm  was  profoundly  calm. 
Then,  on  March  8,  1715,  Louis  XIV  issued  a  Royal 
Declaration  announcing  *'We  have  abolished  the  exercise 
of  the  said  religion,"  and  condemning  to  torture  all  who 
should  relapse,  whether  or  no  they  had  abjured.  His 
declaration  was  so  far  true  that  there  was  in  all  France 
not  a  single  settled  pastor,  not  a  single  "temple,"  not  a 
single  school.     The  Church  was  indeed  under  the  Cross. 

Antoine  Court.  Five  months  later,  on  August  21,  only 
eleven  days  before  the  death  of  the  "Grand  Monarch," 
the  youthful  Antoine  Court  summoned  the  Protestants  of 
France  to  the  First  Desert  Synod.  The  Desert  period 
began,  with  ever  new  persecutions,  new  heroisms,  and 
with  the  Restoration  of  Protestantism  in  France  as  its 
reward.  Since  1659,  there  had  been  no  synod;  perse- 
cution had  made  it  impossible ;  but  with  this  call  the 
tradition  of  synods  was  revived.  Seven  other  synods 
were  held  in  the  Desert — the  last  in  1763,  and  after  that 
regularly  in  other  parts  of  France  until  1787.      Well 


FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM  27 

might  the  mountain  boy  of  the  Cevennes  be  honored  as 
the  Restorer  of  Protestantism  in  France ! 

Antoine  Court,  born  in  1696  of  parents  of  small  fortune  but 
great  zeal,  had  before  his  birth  been  dedicated  to  the  service 
of  God.  His  mother  devoted  herself  to  the  education  of  her 
fatherless  children,  taught  them  the  Bible,  explained  to  them 
the  meaning  of  the  Camisard  insurrection  then  going  on,  prayed 
with  them  in  low  whispers  for  fear  of  spies,  told  them  of  the 
sufferings  of  the  martyrs.  All  books  had  been  requisitioned  and 
burned,  but  she  had  managed  to  save  her  Bible.  Antoine  used 
to  see  her  stealing  out  at  night,  and  when  he  was  fourteen 
years  old  he  followed  her — to  a  desert  meeting  where  a  woman 
led.  Antoine  was  made  a  reader  in  the  meetings  and  two  years 
later  he  suddenly  rose  up  in  a  meeting  and  preached.  It  was 
1713 ;  he  was  seventeen  years  old. 

After  preaching  through  the  mountains  he  overcame  his 
mother's  fears  and  passed  into  Dauphiny,  then  went  to  Marseilles 
and  to  the  royal  galleys,  where  he  found  one  hundred  and  fifty 
professed  Huguenots.  Notwithstanding  the  peril  he  remained 
with  them  several  months,  organizing  regular  worship  among 
them.    During  all  these  years  he  never  slept  but  out  of  doors. 

The  people  of  the  Cevennes  saw  in  him  their  looked-for  leader, 
and  urged  him  to  return.  He  resolved  to  restore  Protestantism 
in  France,  being  greatly  influenced  by  Brousson's  writings  and 
by  a  plan  he  had  proposed  twenty  years  before.  The  time  was 
ripe,  and  while  Louis  XIV  lay  dying  he  called  together  a  Sj'nod 
"to  re-establish  the  proscribed  religion," 

Nine  persons  came,  a  few  laymen,  a  few  more  preachers. 
They  met  in  an  old  Roman  quarry  near  Nimes,  and  there  An- 
toine Court  reconstructed  the  ecclesiastical  body  of  the  Church, 
elders,  deacons  and  pastors.  The  laymen  present  were  ordained 
as  elders,  and  the  preachers  were  charged  to  revive  the  Newly 
Converted.  This  first  step  taken,  the  groups  organized  them- 
selves into  consistories,  colloqiies  or  presbyteries,  and  synods. 

Henceforth  Court's  life  was  one  of  incessant  toil,  of 
imminent  danger.     He   carried  on   an  immense   corre- 


28         FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM 

spondence,  he  founded  a  theological  school  in  Lausanne, 
and  watched  over  each  student  as  over  his  own  child. ^ 
He  saved  Protestantism.  There  were  still  persecutions 
and  intolerance,  but  better  times  were  evidently  at  hand. 
His  task  was  really  done,  and  on  June  15,  1760,  he  died. 
His  son,  Court  de  Gebelin,  continued  his  work. 

His  most  noted  colleague  was  Paul  Rabaut.^  Born  in 
1718  he  "took  the  Desert"  at  the  age  of  sixteen,  be- 
came a  pastor  at  twenty-one  and  carried  on  a  heroic 
ministry  of  fifty  years,  his  life  being  an  incarnation  of 
the  Desert  period.  Many  a  time  hunted,  with  a  price 
upon  his  head,  he  lived  to  see  the  arms  of  persecution 
torn  from  the  hands  of  declining  royalty  by  the  power  of 
public  opinion. 

The  last  martyrs  of  intolerance  were  Jean  Calas  and 
Sirven  (1762).  But  at  this  period  in  the  world's  his- 
tory, such  a  spectacle  of  bigotry  was  too  much.  A  per- 
secuting and  worldly  church  stirred  the  wrath  of  the 
philosophers  of  the  eighteenth  century.  Voltaire  vigor- 
ously protested  against  atrocities  so  alien  to  the  spirit 
of  the  age,  and  in  1787  his  protest  was  answered  by  the 
Edict  of  Toleration. 

'  Between  1730  and  1809  this  school  furnished  about  450 
ministers  to  France. 

'  In  1918  in  the  midst  of  war  the  Protestants  of  France  cele- 
brated his  two  hundredth  anniversary. 


IV 


FROM  THE  EDICT  OF  TOLERATION  TO  THE 
THIRD  REPUBLIC 

1787-1872 

The  Edict  o£  Toleration  was  put  forth  by  Louis  XVI 
in  January,  1787,  under  the  influence  of  Lafayette,  who 
had  seen  the  workings  of  rehgious  freedom  in  America, 
and  who  took  the  initiative  in  bringing  the  subject  before 
the  Assembly  of  Notables.  It  restored  to  Protestants 
their  civil  rights ;  their  marriages  if  performed  before  an 
officer  of  justice  were  legalized,  they  might  exercise  any 
trade  or  profession  without  being  disturbed  on  account  of 
their  religion,  the  births  of  their  children  might  be  regis- 
tered and  certain  rights  of  sepulture  were  granted  to 
them;  but  the  Roman  Catholic  religion  was  recognized 
as  alone  having  any  right  to  public  worship. 

Restricted  as  were  the  privileges  it  granted,  the  Edict 
was  met  with  a  storm  of  protest.  The  Pope  intervened 
and  refused  his  sanction.  But  the  Revolution  was  immi- 
nent: protest  was  impotent.  The  hour  was  at  hand 
when  public  opinion  would  become  amazed  and  indig- 
nant at  the  anomalous  situation  of  thousands  upon  thou- 
sands of  Frenchmen  whose  sole  crime  was  not  being 
Catholics. 

The  very  existence  of  Christianity  in  France  was  in 

29 


30         FREN'CH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM 

a  few  years  at  stake.  The  great  ideas  of  that  period, 
liberty,  humanity,  are  born  of  the  Gospel  and  had  been 
nourished,  though  in  utter  poverty  and  weakness,  by  the 
Children  of  the  Reformation.  The  Church  took  a  stand 
against  these  ideas,  and  its  absolute  power,  which  had 
lasted  for  generations,  now  found  itself  confronted  with 
a  change  in  the  public  spirit  and  conscience. 

"All  that  was  young  of  heart  and  ardent  for  rights  and 
for  liberty  was  by  that  faci  impelled  to  repel  Christianity. 
All  the  glow  and  buoyancy  of  energetic  conviction,  break- 
ing upon  the  rock  of  the  Church,  turned  from  religion 
to  philanthropy."  Liberty  of  thought  and  of  belief  took 
first  rank  in  the  program  of  the  new  generation,  which 
determined  at  all  hazards  to  realize  it.  Voltaire,  with 
his  protest  against  the  judicial  murder  of  the  Huguenot 
Calas,  and  his  sincere  loyalty  to  toleration,  had  advanced 
the  Protestant  cause  more  than  half  a  century  of  obscure 
sufferings  had  done.  Montesquieu  (whose  ^'Spirit  of  the 
Laws"  was  inspiring  Jefferson  and  the  other  framers  of 
the  Constitution  of  the  United  States)  was  being  uni- 
versally read  in  France.  "The  principal  strength  of 
religion,"  he  wrote,  "is  that  it  is  believed;  of  human 
laws  that  they  are  feared,"  clarifying  the  minds  of  the 
early  revolutionists  as  to  the  very  nature  of  religion. 

The  French  Revolution.  Naturally  then,  when  in 
August,  1789,  the  Constituent  Assembly  was  discussing 
the  Declaration  of  the  Rights  of  Man,  Rabaut  St.  Etienne, 
son  of  Paul  Rabaut  the  great  Pastor  of  the  Desert, 
deputy  from  Nimes,  future  president  of  the  National 
Assembly,  spoke  for  liberty  of  worship,  not  only  for 
Protestants  but  for  Jews.  "It  is  at  last  time  to  throw 
down  the  barriers  that  separate  man  from  man,  French- 


FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM  31 

man  from  Frenchman."  "Not  tolerance,"  he  asked  for, 
"but  liberty.  The  ideas  of  tolerance,  clemency,  pardon 
are  supremely  unjust,  for  difference  in  religion  is  not  a 
crime,"  Mirabeau  demanded  not  only  tolerance  but 
entire  liberty  in  religion  as  a  sacred  right  of  man,  and 
the  Duke  de  la  Rochefoucauld  presented  an  Order  of  the 
Day  in  which  it  was  voted  that  "the  Assembly  had  no 
power  over  consciences,"  and  solemnly  condemned  the 
Edict  of  Revocation.  The  Huguenots  had  not  suffered 
in  vain.  When  the  Protestants  asked  for  restoration  to 
religious  rights,  as  im.plicated  in  civil  rights,  it  was 
verbally  granted,  and  on  June  7,  1789,  the  first  public 
Reformed  worship  ever  held  in  Paris  was  celebrated  by 
Pastor  Marron,  formerly  chaplain  to  the  embassy  at 
Holland,  who  had  faithfully  defended  Protestant  rights 
in  the  Assembly.  Protestant  worship  was  publicly  in- 
stituted in  1790  with  the  support  of  Bailly,  Mayor  of 
Paris,  in  the  Church  St.  Louis  du  Louvre,  then  granted 
to  Protestants  as  a  place  of  worship.^  That  same  year 
1790,  a  decree  of  the  Convention  admitted  to  citizenship 
all  descendants  of  refugees  who  might  return,  on  condi- 
tion of  taking  a  civil  oath.  This  privilege  is  still  claimed 
by  descendants  of  Huguenots  returning  from  foreign 
lands. 

Rabaut  St.  Etienne  was  beheaded  in  1793,  and  with 
him  the  young  minister.  La  Source,  who  had  been  a 
Girondin  leader.     The  Protestant  temples  were  closed,^ 

^  It  was  the  Revolution  which  first  put  into  legislative  form 
the  idea  of  the  public  utility  of  religion. 

*  At  this  time,  when  the  Convention  had  turned  all  places  of 
worship  into  clubs,  Oberlin,  the  precursor  of  the  Christian  So- 
cial movement  in  France,  who  for  half  a  generation  had  been 
doing  a  wonderful  work  in  the  Ban-de-la-Roche,  Alsace,  where 


32         FRENXH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM 

their  synodical  organization  annulled  and  the  pastors  dis- 
persed, especially  in  Alsace.  Marron  was  imprisoned, 
but  was  saved  by  the  death  of  Robespierre. 

The  Terror  was  put  down  in  February,  1795.  The 
Church  was  divorced  from  the  State  and  the  Directory 
summoned  religious  associations  to  live  under  the  com- 
mon law.  Both  Catholics  and  Protestants  devoted  them- 
selves to  reorganization.^  The  Protestant  Church  of 
Paris  was  frankly  associated  with  the  political  renovation 
of  the  country,  and  the  Legislative  Assembly  attended  a 
solemn  thanksgiving  in  its  temple,  conducted  by  Pastor 
Marron. 

Napoleon's  Policy.  Most  of  the  Protestant  churches 
were  poor,  but  "liberty  was  in  their  tradition"  and  they 
made  excellent  progress.  Protestantism  was  as  fully 
alive  as  Catholicism  when  in  1801  Napoleon  began  to  take 
an  interest  in  religion  to  fetter  it.  The  next  year,  by 
the  Concordat,  he  officially  called  upon  Protestants  to 
restore  their  church. 

The  Concordat,  being  simply  an  agreement  between  the 
Emperor  and  the  Pope,  had  strictly  speaking  to  do  only 
with  the  Catholic  Church.  But  the  Emperor,  while  ad- 
mitting that  religion  was  a  matter  of  public  utility  ("If 
there  had  been  no  God,"  he  observed,  "it  would  have 
been  necessary  to  create  one"),  was  far  too  perspicacious 
to  leave  to  the  Church  its  former  monopoly,  and  in  the 
"Organic  Articles"  by  which  the  functions  of  the  Church 

the  Revocation  of  the  Edict  of  Nantes  had  not  been  enforced, 
took  the  presidency  of  a  club,  where  he  explained  all  the  new 
liberties,  connecting  them  with  the  Gospel,  the  meetings  being 
always  closed  with  a  psalm. 

^  From  the  anti-religious  reaction  of  the  Reign  of  Terror,  the 
Catholics  suffered  more  than  the  Protestants. 


FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM  33 

were  brought  under  the  common  law  he  formally  "recog- 
nized" the  Reformed  religion,  and  six  years  later  the 
Lutheran.  "The  Jews  are  not  in  the  same  category  as 
the  Protestants  and  Catholics,"  he  said.  "They  must  be 
judged  by  political  not  by  civil  laws,  because  they  are  not 
citizens."  Thus  he  revoked  the  great  Edict  of  Toler- 
tion  of  1789  which  had  made  all  religions  free.  "I  will 
have  no  dominant  religion,"  he  said,  "nor  any  new  ones ; 
the  Catholic,  Reformed  and  Lutheran  are  quite  enough." 
In  later  years,  however,  the  Jewish  became  a  "recog- 
nized" religion,  salaried  by  the  State.  After  much  popu- 
lar opposition  the  Concordat  was  published  and  cele- 
brated on  Easter  Sunday  of  1802  with  great  pomp  by  a 
Te  Deum  at  Notre  Dame. 

By  the  Organic  Articles  Protestant  ministers  were 
made  state  functionaries,  next  in  place  to  Cardinals.  The 
salaries  of  all  ministers  of  religion  were  paid  by  the 
State;  national  and  even  provincial  synods  were  for- 
bidden. Church  sessions  were  disallowed,  though  con- 
sistorial  groups  of  6,000  Protestants,  within  a  definite 
area,  were  permitted.  The  consistories  were  to  elect 
pastors  subject  to  the  Emperor's  confirmation. 

These  measures,  intended  to  protect  the  State  from  pos- 
sible machinations  of  the  Catholic  hierarchy,  were  fatal 
to  any  sense  of  union  among  Protestants,  thinly  scattered 
over  so  wide  a  territory.  Seventy-eight  consistories, 
two  of  them  in  Paris,  were  subsidized,  under  the  Con- 
cordat, with  171  pastoral  places,  but  more  than  one  hun- 
dred and  thirty  of  them  were  vacant  from  lack  of  minis- 
ters. A  few  large  churches,  formerly  Catholic,  were  al- 
lotted to  the  Protestants,  but  elsewhere  the  State  built 
for  them  miserable  halls,  and  in  the  South  they  still  met 


34         FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM 

in  the  open  air,  as  in  the  Desert  days.  No  provision  was 
made  for  the  poor,  and  only  one  hospice  (almshouse) 
was  allowed  them,  that  of  La  Rochelle. 

The  Lutherans  in  Alsace,  whom  the  Revocation  of  the 
Edict  of  Nantes  had  not  affected,  while  suffering  many 
vexations  had  been  able  to  keep  their  worship  and 
schools,  and  were  glad  of  the  Concordat,  which  permitted 
the  creation  of  a  Lutheran  Church  in  Paris.^ 

The  Restoration  Period.  The  fourteen  years  of  the 
Consulate  and  the  Empire  were  for  French  Protestantism 
a  period  of  slow  and  silent  germination.  With  the  Res- 
toration of  the  Monarchy  in  1815  the  Catholic  Church  be- 
came aggressive.  During  the  four  months  of  the  "White 
Terror"  atrocious  cruelties  were  practiced  against  Prot- 
estants, in  several  cases  resulting  in  death.  Protestants 
were  rebaptized  by  scores  "as  if  they  had  been  Jews  or 
pagans,"  and  compelled  to  go  to  mass.  Meetings  of  con- 
sistories were  suspended ;  emigration  was  seriously  con- 
sidered, but  the  trouble  passed  over.  Protestant  zeal 
had  grown  fervid  under  it.^ 

The  Organic  Articles  confined  the  celebration  of  reli- 

*  "  It  would  be  impossible  to  overestimate  the  contribution  of 
the  Alsatians  to  the  spiritual,  moral  and  social  life  of  France 
during  the  nineteenth  century,"  says  a  recent  writer,  "  especially 
after  the  war  of  1870  which  compelled  some  of  the  best  families 
to  leave  their  country." 

■  Under  Louis  Philippe  the  Protestants  were  influential,  but  in 
general,  under  Bourbons  and  Bonapartes,  though  Protestantism 
made  marvellous  spiritual  progress,  its  civil  rights  were  ignored. 
The  disabilities  and  vexatious  injustices,  little  and  great,  suf- 
fered by  Protestants  were  almost  innumerable,  and  in  so  en- 
lightened a  state  quite  incomprehensible.  Even  the  Third  Re- 
public could  not  at  once  remove  these  disabilities.  In  Republican 
France  in  1873  no  Protestant  might  bury  his  dead  in  a  conse- 
crated cemetery  except  on  sufferance,  grudgingly  granted  per- 
haps after  five,  ten^  twenty  days  of  incessant  siege  of  the 
tribunals.     Until  1878  it  was  a  state  prison  offence  to  make  a 


FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM  35 

gious  services  to  religious  buildings  (church,  chapel  or 
*'temple").  Subsequent  interpretations  of  the  law  made 
it  a  state  prison  offence  to  lend  a  room  for  a  parlor  or 
cottage  meeting  or  a  barn  for  a  revival  service  even  if 
the  meeting  had  been  authorised} 

Formation  of  Protestant  Societies.  It  is  a  strong 
testimony  to  the  vitality  of  their  faith  and  a  strong  plea 
for  the  co-operation  of  the  Ohristians  of  America  that 
under  such  circumstances  and  in  the  face  of  repressive 
laws,  the  Protestants  actually  entered  upon  aggressive 
work.  In  1818  a  Bible  Society  was  formed  in  Paris  and 
in  1822  a  Tract  Society.  That  same  year  a  second  Tract 
Society  was  formed  in  Nimes.  Forbidden  by  law  to 
undertake  the  conversion  of  Frenchmen,  they  formed  the 
Society  of  Missions  in  1822  to  carry  the  gospel  to  South 
Africa  and  later  to  the  islands  of  the  Pacific.  In  1833 
the  Evangelical  Society  and  a  few  years  later  the  Central 
Society  were  formed,  both  Home  IMission  societies  but 
both  restricted  to  instructing  anew  or  confirming  in  the 

convert  from  any  religion  to  another — a  law  always  a  dead 
letter  in  the  case  of  Catholics,  but  often  enforced  when  a  Cath- 
olic went  over  to  Protestantism. 

^  In  the  later  years  of  the  Second  Empire  a  representative  of 
the  London  Bible  Society  was  tried  in  the  French  courts  for 
offering  a  room  in  his  house  for  religious  meetings  and  for 
swindling:  that  is  for  taking  voluntary  contributions  for  mis- 
sionary purposes.  On  the  first  count  he  was  found  guilty,  fined 
and  imprisoned  for  two  months,  and  though  not  condemned  on 
the  second  count  he  was  severely  reprimanded  by  the  judge, 
who  said  that  under  the  law  such  a  proceeding  was  virtually 
swindling  and  would  be  so  treated  if  it  occurred  again. 

The  most  intolerant  laws  were  repealed  in  1878-82,  but  the 
situation  remained  a  difficult  one,  for  during  all  the  seventy 
years  between  the  act  of  Napoleon  I  which  at  once  legalized 
and  fettered  it,  until  President  Thiers  in  1872  summoned  a 
General  Synod,  Protestantism  had  no  autonomy,  no  means  of 
association  or  of  spreading  am.ong  its  members  that  sense  of 
unity  which  is  essential  to  successful  effort. 


36         FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM 

faith  such  as  were  Protestants  by  inheritance.  That 
under  cover  of  existing  laws  this  work  became  as  exten- 
sive as  it  did  shows  how  thorough  was  the  conviction  that 
through  the  cruel  repressions  of  generations  many  Prot- 
estants had  fallen  away  from  the  faith. 

In  1852,  a  new  law  created  parochial  suffrage,  and 
gave  the  parishes  a  degree  of  autonomy,  but  no  right  of 
collective  action.  Still,  under  the  impulse  of  this  new 
freedom  new  organizations  were  founded  that  year — the 
Sunday  School  Society  and  the  Society  of  the  History  of 
French  Protestantism.  In  1859  the  churches  observed 
the  third  Centennial  of  the  first  Synod,  that  of  1559,  thus 
proving  the  attachment  of  Protestants  to  their  ancient 
traditions. 

All  these  works  were  the  outgrowth  of  the  Revival, 
always  written  with  a  capital  letter,  always  looked  at  in 
retrospect  as  the  bright  period  of  Nineteenth  Century 
Protestantism.  Begun  in  the  early  years  of  the  Res- 
toration by  the  preaching  of  the  Scotsman  Robert 
Haldane,  and  nourished  by  that  of  another  Scotsman, 
Erskine,  it  aroused  the  half -dormant  spiritual  conscious- 
ness of  the  oppressed  Protestants.  No  sooner  was  the 
Bible  Society  founded  than  auxiliaries  sprang  up  by  the 
hundred.  No  church  refused  to  make  sacrifices  for  it 
or  for  the  Missionary  Society  which  soon  followed. 
Each  year  marked  new  progress  in  the  religious  life. 
"Temples"  were  built  in  towns  and  villages,  each  dedi- 
cation marking  the  decisive  victory  of  religious  liberty, 
restricted  though  it  was.^ 

*  Felix  Neff,  a  young  Swiss,  did  a  wonderful  work  in  the 
Higher  Alps  of  France,  preaching  from  house  to  house,  Sundays 


FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM  Z7 

The  Revolution  of  1830,  putting  the  Orleans  family 
on  the  throne  of  a  constitutional  government,  promised 
freedom  to  the  Protestants.  Men  like  Victor  de  Pres- 
sense,  Lutteroth  and  Waddington  formed  a  committee 
and  opened  a  small  hall  in  Paris  independent  of  the 
Reformed  Church,  out  of  which,  after  various  changes, 
grew  the  well-known  Chapelle  Taitbout,  famous  in  the 
early  years  of  the  Third  Republic  for  the  preaching  of 
the  son  of  Victor  de  Pressense — the  Senator-Pastor 
Edmond  de  Pressense,  and  of  the  gifted  Pastor  Eugene 
Bersier.  During  the  early  days  of  the  Orleans  Gov- 
ernment, Leon  Pilatte  organized  popular  meetings  for  the 
discussion  of  questions  of  the  day  for  working  men  of 
the  Temple  and  Faubourg  St.  Antoine  quarters  and  also 
created  for  them  a  library. 

Under  the  Protestant  Minister  of  Worship  and  Edu- 
cation, Guizot,  son  of  a  Huguenot,  the  educational  system 
founded  by  Napoleon  was  broadened  to  include  the  en- 
dowment of  35,000  primary  schools.  Normal  schools 
were  founded  to  provide  teachers,  and  though  Louis 
Napoleon  within  twenty  years  put  primary  instruction 
into  the  hands  of  the  priests,  the  generation  which  re- 
ceived its  first  training  between  1830  and  1850  proved 
the  salvation  of  France  when  republican  principles  again 
became  dominant.  Such  men  as  Adolphe  Monod  and  his 
four  brothers,  Edmond  de  Pressense,  Louis  Meyer,  Count 
Agenor  de  Gasparin,  Napoleon  Roussel,  Edouard  Stap- 
fer,  were  all  children  of  the  Revival.     Protestant  news- 


and  week  days,  traveling  over  a  parish  more  than  sixty  miles 
long,  transforming  the  country  materially  and  spiritually,  before 
he  died,  worn  out,  in  1829,  at  the  age  of  thirty-one. 


38         FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM 

papers  were  founded  and  valuable  works  on  Protestant 
History  were  written. 

The  crowning  work  of  that  early  time  was  the 
Evangelical  Alliance.  In  1844  Protestants  of  different 
schools  of  thought  met  in  Lyons  "to  demtnstrate  and 
affirm  Christian  Union  in  all  the  churches."  The  idea 
was  seized  upon  by  Germany,  Switzerland,  Scotland, 
England  and  America,  and  in  1846  the  Alliance  was  defi- 
nitely constituted  in  London.^ 

With  the  founding  of  the  shortlived  Second  Republic 
in  1848  the  Protestants  of  France  for  the  first  time  in 
many  years  came  together  in  a  Synod  for  which  the  flex- 
ible French  language  found  a  title.  It  could  not  be 
"official,"  since  by  the  law  of  1802  only  the  Emperor 
could  summon  an  official  Synod,  but  it  could  be  "of- 
ficious" (officieiix).  A  prominent  question  before  the 
Synod  was  the  separation  of  Church  and  State,  a  subject 
upon  which  minds  had  been  brooding  since  1830,  and 
which  the  then  recent  work  on  that  subject  by  the  Swiss 
theologian,  Alexandre  Vinet,  had  set  in  a  clear  light. 
Though  it  was  generally  conceded  that  the  time  for 
throwing  off  state  control  with  state  support  was  not 
yet,  a  few  bolder  minds,  Edmond  de  Pressense,  Frederic 
Monod,  and  several  others  dared  to  take  the  step.  These 
churches  formed  themselves  into  a  synod  in  1849,  on 
the  basis  of  individual  confession  of  faith  and  the  sepa- 
ration of  Church  and  State.  Though  in  doctrine  and  dis- 
cipline resembling  each  other,  there  were  henceforth  two 
orders  of   Protestant  churches  in  France:  the  official, 

*  It  appears  to  have  been  put  forth  earlier  in  the  United  States 
by  Dr.  Samuel  S.  Schmucker,  a  Lutheran  minister. 


FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM  39 

maintained  by  the  State,  and  the  free,  maintained  by  its 
members. 

The  Coiip  d'Etat,  putting  President  Louis  Napoleon 
upon  the  imperial  throne,  could  not  entirely  suppress  the 
enthusiasm  which  had  lasted  over  from  the  Revival,  nor 
check  the  activities  of  a  largely  socialized  Protestantistn. 

Under  Napoleon  I  religion  had  been  bridled  by  the 
State,  under  the  Restoration  it  had  been  wedded  to  the 
State,  but  after  the  brief  liberties  of  the  Second  Republic 
it  became,  under  Napoleon  III,  more  than  ever  subject 
to  the  State. 

From  1850  to  1870  the  Catholic  Church  was  in  power, 
the  Third  Napoleon  understanding  its  usefulness  as  a 
weapon  of  public  utility  and  the  Empress  Eugenie  being 
ardently  devoted  to  it.  Unhappily  the  Empress  did  not 
put  herself  under  the  tutelage  of  the  best  minds  in  the 
Church;  else  the  conscientious  reaction  against  religion 
expressed  in  the  lives  and  writings  of  such  men  as  Talne, 
Renan  and  Victor  Hugo  would  not  have  occurred.  When 
the  free-thinking  Taine  willed  to  be  buried  by  Protestant 
rite  rather  than  with  a  civil  funeral,  it  was  partly  because 
he  did  not  wish  to  be  ranked  among  enemies  of  religion, 
byt  chiefly  because  in  this  way  he  thought  to  register 
his  conviction  that  in  Protestantism  resided  France's 
chief  hope  of  liberty. 


V 


FROM   THE  FOUNDING   OF  THE  THIRD   RE- 
PUBLIC UNTIL  THE  SEPARATION  OF 
CHURCH  AND  STATE 

1870-1906 

In  the  Franco-Prussian  War  the  Protestants  showed 
the  highest  patriotism.  Many  notable  officers  were  Prot- 
estants such  as  Admirals  Jaureguiberry  and  Baudin  and 
Col.  Denfert-Rochereau.  Kuss,  Mayor  of  Strassburg — 
who  died  of  grief  after  the  annexation  of  Alsace — was 
a  Protestant.  Protestant  pastors  did  loyal  service  to  the 
wounded  after  the  battles.  Pastors  Bersier,  Lorriaux 
and  Cook  organized  ambulances  (field  hospitals),  being 
greatly  assisted  by  the  people  of  their  churches. 

The  downfall  of  the  Empire  and  the  proclamation  of 
the  Third  Republic  on  September  4,  1870,  gave  liberty  of 
conscience,  freedom  of  the  press  and  freedom  for  the 
work  of  the  gospel. 

The  bitter  humihation  of  defeat  in  1870  and  the  dark 
disgrace  of  the  Commune  wrought  a  humbling  and  reviv- 
ing influence  upon  the  whole  nation,  especially  upon  the 
common  people.  Among  Catholics  it  took  the  form  of  a 
solemn  consecration  of  the  nation  to  the  Sacred  Heart 
of  Jesus,  and  the  faith  and  zeal  of  Protestants  was  won- 
derfully quickened.  The  Lutherans  were  busy  bringing 
together  the  scattered  fragments  of  their  Church  and 

40 


FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM  41 

ministering  to  refugees  from  Alsace.  The  long-estab- 
lished works  of  the  Reformed  churches  were  carried  on 
with  renewed  vigor  and  devotion  and  new  works  were 
undertaken.  The  question  which  in  1919  is  deeply  oc- 
cupying the  Protestant  conscience :  "After  the  war  must 
we  not  make  a  new  and  special  effort  to  present  to  France 
the  Gospel  of  Jesus  Christ?"  in  1871  providentially  re- 
ceived two  answers  by  the  founding  of  the  Interior  Mis- 
sion (Mission  Inferieiire)  and  of  the  Mission  popidaire 
Evangclique  de  France  {Mac All).  The  former  was 
voted  by  acclamation  at  a  Conference  of  the  Protestants 
of  the  South  held  in  NImes  in  October,  1871,  135  pas- 
tors and  elders  being  present,  its  general  object  being 
to  unite  Christians  for  mutual  encouragement  and 
advancement  of  the  Kingdom  of  God,  its  fundamental 
idea  being  an  appeal  to  all  the  vital  forces  of  the 
Church.  In  a  few  months  a  large  number  of  groups 
were  created  in  different  parts  of  France,  bound  together 
by  a  Central  Committee,  with  a  monthly  Bulletin  as  their 
organ. 

This  work  was  directed  to  the  Protestants  of  France, 
who,  thus  united  and  organized  in  their  several  localities, 
were  expected  to  act  as  a  leaven,  gradually  leavening  the 
Avhole  lump.  The  great  mass  of  the  common  people,  at 
that  time  deemed  bitterly  hostile  to  all  religion — tracing 
as  they  did  the  defeat  of  the  nation  to  the  only  religion 
that  they  knew,  that  of  the  Church  of  Rome — were  only 
indirectly  taken  into  account. 

But  God  had  already  raised  up  a  working  man  to  show 
that  they  might  be  directly  reached.  In  August,  1871,  an 
unknown  man  in  a  blouse  standing  on  one  of  the  "ex- 
terior" boulevards  of  Paris  accosted  an  English  clergy- 


42         FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM 

man,  Robert  W.  McAll,  and  his  wife,  who  on  a  brief 
vacation  visit  to  that  city  were  distributing  French  tracts. 
To  Mr.  McAll  this  unknown  man  said :  "It  is  believed 
that  we  working  people  of  Paris  are  opposed  to  all  reh- 
gion.  It  is  not  so!  We  cannot  accept  an  imposed  reli- 
gion, but  we  are  ready  to  hear,  if  any  one  will  come  and 
teach  us  a  religion  of  freedom  and  reality.'* 

In  January,  1872,  McAll  and  his  wife  opened  the 
first  hall  of  that  remarkably  beneficent  work,  the  Mission 
popiilaire  Evangelique  de  France,  now  overspreading  the 
whole  country  and  known  as  the  McAll  Mission.  Not  the 
least  benefit  conferred  by  the  Mission  upon  France  was 
its  practical  demonstration,  in  the  first  troubled  years  of 
the  Third  Republic,  of  the  safety  of  preaching  the  gospel 
to  the  poor.  "Go  where  you  will,"  said  the  Prefect  of 
the  Seine  to  Mr.  McAll  when  he  went  to  him  in  1873 
for  permission  to  open  his  fifth  hall,  "open  as  many  halls 
as  you  choose,  for  I  have  learned  that  wherever  you  have 
a  hall,  there  I  need  fewer  policemen." 

The  Twenty-ninth  National  Synod  was  convened  by 
President  Thiers  at  the  suggestion  of  Guizot,  formerly 
^Minister  of  Worship  and  Education.  Guizot,  who  was 
then  84  years  old,  attended  as  a  delegate  and  took  part  in 
the  discussions.  It  met  in  January,  1872 — the  first  Na- 
tional Synod  since  1659,  for  the  seven  Desert  Synods 
were  not  national.  The  debate  was  keen  between  con- 
servatives and  liberals,  but  the  former  triumphed,  and 
by  a  vote  or  61  to  41  the  Confession  of  Faith  of  La 
Rochelle  became  the  symbol  of  the  Reformed  Church  of 
France.^ 

*  Only  pastors  were  to  be  held  to  the  Confession  of  Faith  :  other 
church  officers  and   members   were   required   simply  to   declare 


FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM  43 

Two  groups  of  churches,  "evangelical"  and  ''liberal," 
each  headed  by  men  of  high  ability  and  unquestioned 
pierty,  became  recognized  in  the  Reformed  Church,  held 
together  by  the  State  Establishment,  which  paid  salaries 
and  provided  places  for  worship.  As  the  result  of  this 
division,  an  official  General  Synod  was  never  again  con- 
vened by  the  Government. 

The  removal  of  the  Theological  Faculty  from  Strass- 
burg  to  Paris  in  1877,  under  the  Waddington  Ministry, 
brought  from  Alsace  some  of  the  most  brilliant  minds  of 
French  Protestantism  to  influence  the  education  of  young 
pastors — such  men  as  Frederic  Lichtenberger,  expelled  by 
tlie  German  Government  for  his  boldly  patriotic  sermons, 
and  Auguste  Sabatier,  descendant  of  Huguenots  of  the 
Desert,  author  of  "St.  Paul"  and  "Religions  of  Authority 
and  the  Religion  of  the  Spirit,"  and  professors  like  Bonet- 
Maury,  Edmond  Stapfer  and  Maurice  Vernes. 

In  1878  the  Evangelicals  organized  what  they  called  the 
"Officious"  Synod,  a  working  synod  of  their  own  forces, 
while  remaining  in  the  state  ecclesiastical  body.  At  this 
time  they  also  reconstructed  the  provincial  synods.  The 
Liberals  also  organized  on  almost  identical  lines,  under 
the  name,  "Liberal  Delegation,"  both  bodies  reporting 
trienially  to  the  General  Synod.  The  two  bodies  were 
later  bound  together  by  the  Fraternal  Commission,  con- 
sisting of  members  of  both  bodies. 

During  this  time  the  Free  Churches  had  been  very 
active.  Edmond  de  Pressense  had  gone  into  public  af- 
fairs and  was  a  Life  Senator.    Jules  Siegfried  was  busy- 

*'h^rtfelt  attachment  to  the  Reformed  Church  and  the  revealed 
trcrh  as  it  is  contained  in  the  sacred  books  of  the  Old  and  New- 
Testaments." 


44         FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM 

ing  himself  with  the  housing  of  working  people,  Leon 
Say  with  the  effort  for  Sunday  rest,  Richard  Waddington 
with  the  interests  of  factory  women.  Pastor  Tomy 
Fallot  with  founding  the  League  for  Public  Morality. 
The  great  economist  Charles  Gide  was  promoting  co- 
operation. Pastor  Gouth  was  founding  the  Protestant 
Association  for  the  Study  of  Social  Questions.  Edouard 
Reuss,  writing  his  many  volumned  Commentary  on  the 
Bible,  and  Dean  Lichtenberger,  with  the  "Encyclopedia 
of  Religious  Knowledge,"  proved  that  "that  ancient 
French  glory,  erudition"  was  still  alive  among  Protes- 
tants ;  historical  works  were  issued  by  Athanase  Coquerel 
the  younger,  de  Pressense,  Bersier,  the  elder  and  younger 
Puaux,  de  Felice,  Douen,  Weiss,  and  a  new  literary  move- 
ment arose  among  such  women  as  Mmes.  DeWitt-Guizot, 
de  Pressense,  Decoppet  and  Bersier. 

On  the  passage  of  the  liberal  religious  and  educational 
laws  of  1878  the  activities  of  Protestants  sprang  into 
wonderful  efficiency.  In  1880,  when  the  new  laws  came 
into  effect,  the  Evangelical  Society,  then  in  its  forty- 
seventh  year,  founded  forty-seven  new  churches;  the 
department  of  Creuse,  in  the  center  of  France,  which  in 
1871  numbered  only  ten  scattered  Protestants,  in  1881 
had  sixty-one  preaching  stations  of  the  same  society. 
The  Interior  Mission  of  the  Reformed  Church,  whose 
meetings  were  modeled  after  the  McAll  "reunions," 
often  gathered  four-fifths  of  the  entire  population  of 
villages.  In  Noyon,  Calvin's  birthplace,  where  since 
he  left  it  the  gospel  had  not  once  been  preached,  the 
Central  Society  established  Protestant  services.  The 
Young  Men's  Christian  Association  sprang  into  new 
activity.      No    danger    now    threatened    the    Protestant 


FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM  45 

minority,  whether  lay  or  clerical,  and  within  a  few  years 
many  preaching  stations  were  opened  in  villages  once 
exclusively  Catholic.  The  extreme  poverty  of  Prot- 
estants seemed  to  be  the  only  hindrance  to  the  nation- 
wide extension  of  Protestantism;  and  yet  with  all  their 
poverty,  their  contributions  to  religious  and  charitable 
work  exceeded,  proportionately ,  those  of  English  or 
American  Protestants,  averaging  seven  francs  for  each 
Protestant  man,  woman  and  child,  whether  or  not  church 
members.  The  celebration  of  the  Second  Centennial  of 
the  Revocation  in  1885  brought  to  Protestants  the  realiza- 
tion that  their  noble  ancestors  had  not  suffered  in  vain. 
More  than  1,000  pastors  were  preaching,  and  though 
there  were  only  600,000  Protestants,  these  were  175,000 
more  than  in  1806. 

Notwithstanding  their  poverty,  they  very  seriously  con- 
sidered at  the  General  Synod  of  1888  held  in  St.  Quen- 
tin  the  question  of  separation  of  Church  and  State.  Sen- 
ator Edmond  de  Pressense,  minister  of  a  Free  Church, 
advocated  the  measure  amidst  wild  applause,  and  Pastor 
Eugene  Bersier,  "the  Phillips  Brooks  of  France,"  also  a 
Free  Church  pastor,  seconded  the  proposition.  But  the 
majority  felt  too  keenly  the  poverty  of  the  Church  and 
its  rapidly  increasing  financial  responsibilities,  to  venture 
upon  the  step. 

The  virulent  anti-Protestant  campaign  by  which,  after 
the  Dreyfus  affair,  the  Catholic  Church  took  its  reprisals, 
was  rather  an  advantage  to  Protestantism  than  otherwise 
by  awakening  the  body  to  self-consciousness  and  a  sense 
of  solidarity.  On  the  other  side,  the  best  Catholic 
thinkers,  ashamed  of  the  methods  fostered  by  their 
Church,  began  to  study  the  basis  of  the  claims  which  she 


46         FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM 

put  forth,  and  a  wide  movement  toward  freedom — illus- 
trated by  such  names  as  those  of  the  Abbes  Houtin, 
Klein,  Lemire — brought  an  important  group  of  pritsts 
out  of  their  church,  and  some  of  them,  though  chiefly 
the  less  conspicuous  among  them,  into  the  Reformed 
Church. 

As  the  century  wore  toward  its  close  a  sense  of  social 
responsibility  had  grown  up  in  the  Reformed  churches, 
leading  to  an  important  movement  toward  "social  Chris- 
tianity," of  which  the  revered  Tomy  Fallot  was  the 
father,  though  he  had  died  before  it  took  definite  form. 
All  the  congresses  of  the  ''Protestant  Association  for  the 
Practical  Study  of  Social  Questions,"  had  discussed 
theories  of  social  Christianity.  But  actual  workers  made 
up  the  first  Congress  of  Social  Christianity,  held  in  1889 
at  Chambon  de  Tence.  It  considered  the  evangelization 
of  the  working  man  and  led  to  the  foundation  of  the 
paper  UAvant  Garde  as  its  unofficial  organ.  Another 
congress,  held  in  Roubaix  in  1900,  was  largely  attended 
by  social  Christian  workers.  The  first  solidarities  (neigh- 
borhood houses)  had  just  been  created  at  Roubaix,  Lille, 
Rouen  and  Paris.  The  "White  Star"  League  for  social 
purity  was  organized.  During  the  next  year  many  soli- 
darities were  founded,  the  Review  of  Social  Christianity 
appeared,  social  Christians  entered  into  relations  with 
those  of  France,  Great  Britain,  Switzerland,  Germany 
and  America,  and  held  a  membership  by  correspondence 
in  the  "Brotherhood  of  the  Kingdom"  in  the  United 
States.  A  remarkable  Congress  was  held  in  Rouen,  dis- 
tinguished for  its  eminently  religious  character  and  its 
endeavor  to  formulate  religious  principles  as  related  to 
social  problems,  at  which  the  venerable  Pastor  Charles 


FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PR0TESTANTIS13  47 

Babut  of  Nimes,  and  Pastor  Elie  Gounelle  of  Roubaix, 
delivered  striking  addresses. 

These  congresses  tended  to  obliterate  lines  of  cleavage 
between  the  various  factions  of  the  Reformed  Church, 
and  to  foster  a  longing  for  union,  which  became  more 
marked  as  the  new  century  drew  on. 

It  was  the  universal  awakening  to  the  beauty  of  liberty, 
quite  as  much  as  the  evident  necessity  to  safeguard  the 
state  against  the  rapidly  growing  encroachments  of  cer- 
tain Roman  Catholic  orders  formed  within  the  century, 
and  therefore  outside  the  provisions  of  the  Concordat, 
which  led  the  government  in  1901  to  introduce  into  Par- 
liament the  Associations  bill.  This  important  measure 
of  liberty  removed  the  restrictions  upon  religious  bodies 
which  had  hampered  every  effort  at  collective  action,  but 
made  an  important  exception  in  the  case  of  societies 
whose  members  lived  in  common — monastic  institutions. 
These  v/ere  required  to  deposit  with  the  authorities  an 
inventory  of  their  property,  and  submit  to  a  process 
equivalent  to  incorporation.  The  introduction  of  this 
bill  aroused  a  storm  which  a  quarter  century  before 
would  have  wrecked  the  government.  A  league  was 
formed  by  supporters  of  the  government,  a  league  of 
Catholic  women  raised  1,000,000  francs  to  enable  the 
Orders  to  oppose  it.  The  Dreyfus  affair  had  shown  that 
the  nation  was  divided  into  two  irreconcilable  camps, 
standing  respectively  for  the  rights  of  man  and  for  des- 
potism ;  patriots  of  all  shades  stood  for  the  rights  of  man, 
and  the  Briand  bill  became  the  Associations  Law.  The 
large  majority  of  the  Associations  submitted,  but  a  re- 
fractory minority  rebelled  with  such  noise  and  fury  as 
to  attract  the  attention  of  the  world,  and  give  the  im- 


48         FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM 

pression  in  Protestant  countries  that  the  Roman  Catholic 
Church  in  France  was  being  despotically  abused  by  an 
atheistic  government. 

The  movement  for  the  separation  of  Church  and  State 
which  soon  after  followed  was  by  no  means  due  to  the 
tumultuous  opposition  offered  to  the  Associations  Law, 
though  those  tumults  naturally  hastened  its  culmination. 
Its  origin  in  fact  dated  back  to  the  Second  Republic, 
when  in  1848  a  committee  was  appointed  by  the  Con- 
stituent Assembly  to  propose  a  report  on  the  relations  of 
Church  and  State.  But  for  the  Coup  d'Etat  by  which 
the  President  of  the  Republic  made  himself  emj)eror,  it 
is  highly  probable  that  the  abrogation  of  the  Concordat 
might  have  been  effected  under  circumstances  most 
favorable  for  the  Church  and  by  no  means  unfavorable 
to  Protestantism.  But  after  the  opposition  to  the  Asso- 
ciations Law,  bills  for  the  abrogation  of  the  Concordat 
poured  into  the  Chamber  of  Deputies  from  all  sides.  As 
the  work  progressed  the  Deputies  came  to  feel  more  and 
more  the  gravity  of  their  task.  The  final  result  was  the 
Disestablishment  Law,  a  law  relatively  good,  generally 
acceptable  and  in  many  respects  large  and  liberal.  First 
of  all  European  nations  France  had  emancipated  the 
human  soul ;  religion  had  ceased  to  be  a  function  of  gov- 
ernment. 

The  Reformed  churches  had  for  years  anticipated  this 
measure,  and  realized  all  its  gravity  for  them.  Of  their 
thirteen  hundred  pastors  and  evangelists,  more  than  seven 
hundred,  and  these  the  best  educated  and  more  influen- 
tial, were  salaried  by  the  State.  Within  the  century,  how- 
ever, many  new  churches  had  been  founded,  not  entitled 
to  the  government  provision,  and  being  mainly  in  poorer 


FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM         49 

regions  these  were  largely  dependent  upon  the  older 
churches  for  aid.  Financially  the  situation  promised  to 
be  serious.  But  spiritually  an  important  work  of  prep- 
aration had  been  going  on.  Protestants  of  all  shades  of 
thought  had  for  ten  years  been  associated  in  all  forms  of 
good  works,  and  had  come  to  understand  and  trust  each 
other. 

Fraternal  conferences  of  both  wings  of  the  church  had 
been  held  in  Lyons  in  1896  and  1899,  yet  when  the  sepa- 
ration law  was  passed  the  Protestants  organized  them- 
selves in  two  separate  groups.  The  Liberal  wing,  meet- 
ing in  Montpellier  in  June,  1905,  had  declared  their  faith 
and  principles  with  an  evident  disposition  to  harmonize 
with  their  brethren  of  the  Evangelical  churches.  The 
latter  met  in  General  Synod  at  Orleans  in  January,  1906. 
Those  members  of  the  mediating  group  (the  "Center"), 
who  were  disposed  to  union  with  the  liberals,  finding 
themselves  in  the  minority,  felt  it  to  be  their  duty  to 
withdraw.  The  Evangelical  Reformed  Church  was  then 
constituted  in  accordance  with  the  principles  laid  down 
by  the  National  Synod  of  1872,  and  affirmed  in  subse- 
quent Officious  Synods. 

The  **Center"  subsequently  formed  an  independent 
group  at  Jamac,  Pastor  Charles  Wagner,  representing  the 
liberals,  being  present  and  uttering  a  magnificently  in- 
spired address.  In  the  course  of  time  these  two  bodies 
united  in  forming  the  Union  of  Reformed  Churches. 

The  results  of  separation  justified  neither  the  hopes 
nor  the  fears  which  had  been  felt  by  many.  An  impulse 
of  generosity  prevailed.  Few  or  no  churches  or  preach- 
ing stations  were  suppressed ;  honie  and  foreign  missions 
were  generously  supported.     The  churches  had  indeed 


50         FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM 

not  been  ready  for  a  great  movement  toward  union ; 
under  the  existing  circumstances,  such  a  movement  was 
hardly  practicable.  But  with  the  new  grouping  of  Prot- 
estants arose  a  new  interest  in  Church  questions  among 
the  laity,  with  a  new  sense  of  individual  responsibility. 


VI 


FRENCH  PROTESTANT  CHURCHES  OF 
ALSACE  AND  LORRAINE 

Pastor  Frank  Puaux,  President  of  the  Society  of 
French  Protestantism,  wrote  as  follows  in  the  '^Livre 
d'Or  du  Profesfantisme  Frangais"  (Golden  Book  of 
French  Protestantism)  designed  for  the  World  Exposi- 
tion held  at  Chicago  in  1892: 

These  fine  Churches  of  Alsace,  which  asserted  their  religious 
life  with  such  power,  were  taken  from  their  mother  country 
by  the  Annexation.  How  can  we  forget  that  Alsace  gave  to  our 
country  Oberhn,  whose  name  evokes  memories  of  an  admirable 
life!  How  can  we  refrain  from  mentioning  these  learned  men: 
Reuss,  Matter,  Baum,  Cunitz,  Wilm,  who  in  the  defence  of 
religious  faith  united  the  brightness  of  our  methods  to  the 
erudite  researches  of  Germany?  And  to  the  scientific  activities 
which  were  the  honor  of  the  Strasbourg  school  must  be  added 
those  charitable  and  missionary  activities  which  since  the  days 
of  the  Revival  have  renovated  the  Churches  of  Alsace.  It  was 
in  Strasbourg  that  the  pious  Herter  founded  the  Institute  of 
Deaconesses,  it  was  in  Illzach  that  J.  Koechlin,  himself  a  blind 
man,  founded  the  first  asylum  for  the  blind.  To  the  same 
churches  belonged  prominent  men  such  as  Jean  Dollfus,  J. 
Koechlin,  Engel,  who  first  initiated  social  reform.  French  Prot- 
estantism, the  history  of  which  seems  indeed  to  be  the  history 
of  its  sufferings,  was  once  more  compelled,  through  the  severance 
of  the  churches  of  Alsace  from  their  home  country,  to  lose  this 
elite  of  Christians  who  gave  to  France  an  honored  name  and  to 
the  Gospel  a  fine  testimony. 

51 


52         FRENXH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM 

By  the  German  Annexation  of  Alsace  the  Evangelical 
Church  of  the  Augsburg  Confession  (Lutheran)  lost  38 
consistories  and  191  parishes ;  the  Reformed  Church 
lost  5  consistories  and  96  parishes. 

According  to  Lichtenberger  there  were  270,699  Prot- 
estants in  Alsace  and  Lorraine  before  the  Annexation, 
by  which  France  was  deprived  of  Protestant  church 
members  in  the  proportion  of  one  to  four. 

It  is  true  that  a  large  number  of  Alsatian  Protestants, 
who  were  of  comparatively  more  independent  means  than 
the  Roman  Catholics  in  the  Annexed  Departments, 
availed  themselves  of  the  right  of  option  and  settled  in 
such  towns  as  Belfort,  Epinal,  Thann  les  Vosges,  Saint 
Die,  Nancy,  Rheims,  in  the  East;  Elbeuf  in  Normandy, 
as  well  as  in  many  parts  of  Algeria.  A  number  of  the 
most  distinguished  Alsatians  settled  in  Paris.  The  Di- 
vinity Faculty  of  Strassburg  was  partly  transferred  to 
Paris.  Wherever  Alsatian  Protestants  went  they  joined 
the  churches  and  were  elected  to  the  church  councils. 
Their  influence  today  is  great,  not  only  among  French 
Lutherans,  but  also  in  the  Reformed  churches,  because 
of  their  steadfastness,  their  administrative  powers,  and 
often  their  rank  in  trade  or  in  official  positions. 

Nevertheless,  the  great  bulk  of  the  French  Protestants 
of  Alsace  and  Lorraine  remained  in  the  annexed  terri- 
tory, keeping  as  close  intercourse  as  possible  with  their 
brothers  in  France,  giving  generous  support  to  their 
social  and  missionary  w^orks,  patiently  waiting  for  better 
times. 

The  origin  of  the  Lutheran  Churches  in  Alsace  dates 
back  to  Reformation  days  when  the  greater  part  of 
Alsace  was  not  French  territory  (Lorraine  was  wholly 


FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM  53 

French  and  had  few  if  any  Lutheran  Churches).  The 
history  of  the  Reformation  in  Alsace  belongs  to  the  his- 
tory of  the  Reformation  in  the  Rhine  country,  which  is 
to  be  traced  to  the  influence  of  Zwingli.  Bucer  in  Strass- 
burg  tried  to  be  both  Zwinglian  and  Lutheran,  and  the 
name  Lutheran  was  early  attached  to  Alsatian  Prot- 
estantism. 


VII 

THE  REFORMATION  IN  BELGIUM 

When  the  Reformation  began  in  the  sixteenth  cen- 
tury Belgium  formed  a  part  of  the  Seventeen  Provinces 
of  the  Netherlands  which  included  what  is  now  Holland 
and  a  part  of  Northern  France  (Flanders,  Artois,  Cam- 
bresis).  All  this  territory  had  come  into  the  posses- 
sion of  Charles  V,  Emperor  of  Germany  and  King 
of  Spain.  In  that  section  of  Western  Europe,  espe- 
cially in  the  Flemish  cities  (Ypres,  Bruges,  Ghent, 
Antwerp),  trade,  industry,  science  and  the  arts  had 
developed  to  the  highest  degree.  From  the  Middle 
Ages,  traditions  of  independence  had  been  kept  alive  in 
the  Flemish  Communes;  in  1477  they  had  secured  from 
Mary  of  Burgundy  the  freest  constitution  that  had  yet 
been  framed  in  Europe.  General  prosperity,  freedom  of 
opinion,  widespread  education,  made  of  the  Netherlands 
the  best  prepared  soil  for  the  seed  of  the  rediscovered 
Gosoel. 

Within  a  few  davs  after  Luther  posted  his  Theses  at 
Wittenberg  (Oct.  31,  1517),  they  had  been  printed,  dis- 
tributed and  discussed  all  over  Belgium.  The  first 
martyrs  of  Evangelical  truth  were  two  young  Augustin- 
ian  monks  of  Antwerp,  John  Voes  and  Henry  Van 
Esschen,  who  were  burned  at  the  stake  in  1523.  Their 
heroism  was  celebrated  by  Luther  in  a  beautiful  hymn. 

54 


FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM  55 

The  movement  spread  rapidly ;  the  cathedral  of  Antwerp, 
the  churches  of  Ypres,  Bruges,  Ghent,  Valenciennes,  and 
other  cities  resounded  with  the  new  ideas,  and  were 
crowded  with  listeners;  open  air  meetings  outside  the 
walls  of  Antwerp  gathered  as  many  as  20,000  hearers. 
It  is  said  that  two-thirds  of  the  population  of  the  Flemish 
provinces  were  gained  for  the  Reformation. 

The  Emperor  Charles  V,  however,  had  sworn  to  de- 
stroy heresy.  He  succeeded  better  in  Belgium  than  in 
Germany.  "Placards  or  decrees,  announcing  the  estab- 
lishment of  a  special  Tribunal  of  the  Inquisition,  each 
more  cruel  and  sanguinary  than  its  predecessor,  followed 
in  rapid  succession,  till  that  of  1500  reached  a  climax  of 
ferocity. 

In  1555,  Charles  V  abdicated  in  favor  of  his  son,  the 
notorious  Philip  II.  More  bigoted  and  cruel  than  his 
father,  he  trampled  upon  the  civil  rights  and  privileges 
solemnly  sworn  to  in  many  charters  both  by  himself  and 
his  father.  All  classes  of  citizens,  without  respect  to 
creed,  made  common  cause  against  the  common  op- 
pressor. The  revolutionary  movement  culminated  in  a 
*Tetition  of  Rights"  or  Compromis  des  Nobles  formally 
presented  to  Margaret  of  Parma,  the  Regent,  in  April, 
1566,  by  four  hundred  nobles  in  person.  From  this  act 
dates  the  name  of  Gueiix  or  Beggars,  assumed  by  Belgian 
Protestants  and  corresponding  to  the  term  Huguenot  in 
France. 

Philip's  reply  to  the  petition  was  an  army  of  13,000 
foreign  troops  under  the  command  of  the  cruel  Duke  of 
Alva.  Thousands  preferred  death  to  abjuration  of  their 
faith  in  Jesus  Christ.  Men  were  burnt  at  the  stake  and 
women  were  buried  alive.     Alva  boasted  that  he  had 


56         FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM 

executed  more  than  18,000  people.  The  total  number  of 
the  victims  of  the  Spanish  Inquisition  in  Belgium  is  not 
known,  but  must  have  reached  at  least  100,000.  Many 
more  fled,  their  property  being  confiscated  by  the  King  ; 
some  sought  refuge  in  England  carrying  with  them  the 
secrets  of  the  manufacture  of  woollen,  linen  and  silk 
fabrics.  Others  went  to  the  German  Palatinate,  where 
with  the  French  Huguenots,  they  contributed  largely  to 
the  economic  development  of  Germany. 

In  1563,  the  Synod  of  the  Walloon  Churches  in  the 
Provinces  of  Artois,  Flanders,  Erabant  and  Hainault, 
was  organized  under  the  influence  of  Calvin. 

Remonstrance,  petition,  and  every  diplomatic  device 
having  utterly  failed  to  secure  redress,  the  Protestants, 
in  the  year  1568,  under  the  leadership  of  William  of 
Orange,  "The  Silent,"  took  un  hostilities  which  they  con- 
tinued with  vpr\n*nsr  success  for  forty  years. 

In  1576,  William  of  Oransre  succeeded  in  uniting  the 
seventeen  provinces  into  a  union  called  the  "Pacification 
of  Ghent,"  but  the  southern  (Walloon)  provinces  were 
invaded  by  Alexander  Farnese.  Antwerp  was  sacked, 
laid  in  ruins,  almost  obliterated.  The  defection  of  the 
ten  southern  provinces  forced  the  formation  by  the  seven 
northern  provinces  of  the  "Union  of  Utrecht"  (1579). 
Combined  into  a  federation,  the  Republic  of  the  United 
Netherlands  secured  the  first  free  constitution  of  modern 
times,  applying  to  the  State  the  principles  laid  down  in 
the  synodical  and  representative  organization  of  their 
Calvinistic  churches. 

A  larger  emigration  to  Holland  from  the  Belgian 
provinces  took  place.  All  those  believers  and  patriots 
who    refused    to    submit    to    the    King    of    Spain    and 


FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM  57 

to  the  Romish  Inquisition,  left  their  homes,  forfeiting 
everything  they  possessed,  losing  their  all  to  save  their 
souls.  Among  them  were  skilful  artisans,  wealthy  mer- 
chants and  bankers,  noblemen  and  distinguished  scien- 
tists. From  economic,  political,  moral  and  spiritual  view- 
points this  was  an  irreparable  loss  to  Belgium.  The  few 
Protestants  who  remained  in  the  country  were  exter- 
minated or  reduced  to  subjection. 


PART  II 

TWENTIETH  CENTURY  FRENCH  AND 
BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM 


ITS  ORGANIZATION  AND  ACTIVITIES 

Churches 

French  Protestantism,  as  has  been  seen,  is  mainly  the 
offspring  of  a  national  religious  movement  by  which  in 
the  early  days  of  the  sixteenth  century  an  endeavor  was 
made  toward  the  reformation  of  the  Roman  Catholic 
Church;  hence  the  name,  the  reformed  churches  of 

FRANCE. 

In  addition  to  the  Reformed  Churches  there  are  in 
the  Departments  of  the  East,  in  Paris  and  in  Algeria, 
churches  originally  springing  from  the  Lutheran  and 
Zwinglian  Reformation  which  constitute  the  Evangelical 
Lutheran  Church  of  France.  The  Free  Churches  are 
Reformed  churches  which  in  the  middle  of  the  nine- 
teenth century  broke  the  bond  which  united  them  with 
the  state.  The  Methodist  churches  originated  through 
the  influence  of  the  Wesleyan  Reformation  in  Eng- 
land, and  at  a  later  date  Mission  churches  were  estab- 
lished by  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in  America. 
There  are  independent  Baptist  churches  also  and  a  few 
independent  churches  of  the  Congregational  type. 

All  these  churches  are  combined  in  the  Protestant 
Federation  of  France,  whose  object  is  to  manifest  the 
essential  union  of  French  Protestants,  and  to  coordinate 
their  efforts  for  moral  and  social  action. 

6i 


62         FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM 

The  Disestablishment  Law  of  1905  threw  the  Re- 
formed and  Lutheran  churches  entirely  upon  their  own 
resources.  The  vigorous  effort  toward  financial  organi- 
zation thus  forced  upon  them  had  not  yielded  its  full 
results  when  the  crisis  of  the  war  came. 

In  order  to  comply  with  the  Disestablishment  Law, 
each  local  church  had  to  constitute  its  own  Association 
Cultiielle  ^  for  the  management  of  such  funds  as  it 
might  raise  for  the  maintenance  of  public  worship  and 
all  other  causes,  such  as  missions,  education  and  the  care 
of  the  poor — the  suppression  of  the  Budget  of  Worship 
being  the  natural  consequence  of  the  Separation  Law. 

In  certain  respects  the  free  church  bodies  (Reformed, 
Methodist,  Baptist  and  other  independent  churches), 
had  an  advantage  over  the  established  churches.  They 
were  accustomed  to  self-government  and  to  ecclesiastical 
freedom,  and  being  always  self-supporting  the  separa- 
tion law  threw  upon  them  no  new  financial  burden, 
whereas  the  established  churches  had  to  a  certain  degree 
been  pauperized  by  not  being  required  to  support  their 
pastors.  The  problem  of  maintenance  was  seriously  in- 
creased by  the  dissemines  or  scattered  Protestants,  who 
to  the  number  of  more  than  two  hundred  thousand  were 
found  in  all  parts  of  the  country,  many  of  them  in 
spiritual  destitution.  Manifestly  such  could  not  form 
churches  and  it  was  in  their  behalf  that  the  home  mis- 

'  No  adequate  translation  has  been  found  for  Associatioji  Cul- 
tuelle,  though  both  French  and  English  speaking  people  have 
long  labored  over  the  expression.  It  may  be  observed  that  the 
word  "Church"  does  not  once  appear  in  the  separation  law  of 
December  9,  1905.  Literally,  Association  Cultuelle  means  "asso- 
ciation for  worship,"  but  the  expression  includes  and  indeed 
especially  connotes  "association  for  the  transaction  of  the  busi- 
ness connected  with  worship." 


FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM  63 

sionary  societies  were   founded  nearly  a   century   ago. 

Under  the  separation  law  each  cultural  associa- 
tion is  governed  by  a  presbyterial  council  (session). 
These  councils  are  permitted  to  unite  in  consistories 
(presbyteries;  the  word  is  not  used  in  this  sense  in 
French),  and  these  may  meet  in  General  Synod  or  other 
assemblies  having  no  political  purpose.  General  Synods 
must  meet  once  a  year  and  present  a  financial  report. 
This  law  applies  to  all  churches.^ 

Before  the  separation  of  Church  and  State,  the  Re- 
formed churches  of  France  were  one  body  before  the 
law.     They  are  now  organized  in  two  different  bodies: 

1.  The  Union  of  Evangelical  Reformed  Churches. 

2.  The  Union  of  Reformed  Churches. 

The  General  Synod  (see  p.  49)  had  been  called  by  the 
Permanent  Committee  of  the  Reformed  Churches.  A 
difference  of  opinion  had  arisen,  not  so  much  on  doc- 
trinal grounds  as  on  conditions  of  membership  in  the 
"associations"  about  to  be  formed.  The  result  was  a 
division,  two-fifths  of  the  pastors  present  leaving  the 
body.  The  remaining  three-fifths  drew  up  a  constitu- 
tion and  laws  for  the  Evangelical  Reformed  Church  of 
France,  to  which  about  the  same  proportion  of  the 
churches  throughout  the  country  have  adhered. 

The  Union  of  Evangelical  Reformed  Churches  of 
France  maintains  as  its  basis  the  Declaration  of  Faith 
elaborated  by  the  last  General  Synod  of  all  the  Reformed 

^  The  Protestant  population  of  France  is  now  estimated  at 
600,000  among  38,000,000  nominal  Roman  Catholics  of  whom 
only  a  small  proportion  are  "practicing."  There  are  about  1,200 
Protestant  churches  of  all  communions,  besides  missions  and 
other  small  groups,  with  more  than  1,200  pastors.  The  acces- 
sion of  Alsace  and  Lorraine  would  add  about  275,000  to  the 
Protestant  population. 


64         FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM 

Churches  (1872),  and  its  pastors  are  required  to  give 
adherence  to  it. 

These  churches,  organized  according  to  the  principles 
and  rules  of  presbyterial  and  synodical  government, 
number  400  and  have  constituted  446  Associations  CuU 
Uielles  with  approximately  80,000  voting  members.  They 
are  distributed  into  twenty  Regional  Unions,  covering  the 
entire  territory  of  France  and  Algeria,  meeting  every 
year  in  Particular  Synods,  and  forming  a  National 
Union,  holding  a  regular  annual  National  Synod. 

The  Union  of  Reformed  Churches  of  France.  The 
"liberal"  delegation  in  1905  formed  its  adherents  into 
the  "United  Reformed  Churches"  and  adopted  a  Decla- 
ration of  Principles  which  greatly  encouraged  the 
"mediating  group"  in  the  Reformed  Church  (see  p.  49) 
in  their  hope  that  division  in  the  Reformed  Church 
might  be  prevented.  In  the  new  efforts  put  forth  for 
union,  the  venerable  and  universally  beloved  and  trusted 
Pastor  Charles  Babut  of  Nimes,  a  leading  member  of 
the  Union  of  Evangelical  Reformed  Churches,  one  of 
the  three  pastoral  survivors  of  the  Synod  of  1872, 
earnestly  and  most  affectionately  joined,  writing  a  series 
of  letters  which  were  published  in  all  denominational 
papers  and  must  always  be  preserved  as  a  precious  his- 
torical document  of  the  Reformed  Church  of  France. 

In  June,  1912,  certain  of  the  mediating  group  who  had 
remained  out  of  both  organizations  with  the  hope  of  ulti- 
mately bringing  them  together,  seeing  that  the  time  was 
not  ripe  for  full  union,  met  with  delegates  of  the  United 
Reformed  Churches  in  the  Church  of  the  Oratoire,  in 
Paris,  and  founded  the  National  Union  of  Reformed 
Churches.     The  Union  has  the  same  form  of  organiza- 


FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM  65 

tion  as  that  of  the  Evangelical  Reformed  Churches  and 
consists  of  ten  Regional  Unions. 

The  Union  of  Free  Evangelical  Churches  of  France. 
The  revival  followed  by  the  Revolution  of  1830  resulted 
in  the  establishment  of  Free  Churches  in  1848.  The 
Chapels  Taitbout  and  St.  Maur  in  Paris  have  exerted  a 
wide  influence,  the  former  over  the  educated  classes,  the 
latter  over  the  working  people  of  the  Faubourgs  of  the 
Temple  and  St.  Antoine.  The  Union  includes  48  churches 
united  under  a  Synodical  Commission,  with  50  pastors 
and  evangelists,  a  professor  in  the  Theological  Faculty 
of  Paris  and  several  missionaries  in  Africa  under  the 
Foreign  Missionary  Society,  in  the  support  of  which  all 
Protestant  churches  unite. 

Evangelical  Lutheran  Churches.  Lutherans  were 
found  in  France  in  the  early  years  of  the  Reformation. 
The  first  martyrs  to  Protestantism  in  France  were  con- 
demned and  executed  as  "Lutherans,"  then  a  term  of 
opprobrium,  the  persecution  beginning  in  1520.  For  two 
decades  non-conformists  of  all  shades  of  opinion  were 
classed  indiscriminately  as  Lutherans.  When  the  Prot- 
estant churches  of  France  were  organized,  however,  it 
was  under  the  influence  of  Calvin,  and  for  many  years 
the  only  home  of  the  Lutheran  Church  in  France  was 
the  Swedish  Embassy  at  Paris,  where  Lutheran  services 
were  held  without  interruption  in  Swedish,  German  and 
French,  down  to  1806.  Even  during  the  Reign  of 
Terror,  when  the  Reformed  Church  had  to  take  refuge 
at  Charenton,  the  Lutheran  services  were  undisturbed. 
In  a  single  consistory  there  is  deposited  a  register  con- 
taining more  than  4,000  signatures  testifying  to  the 
fidelity  of  the  Lutherans  to  their  faith  during  the  six- 


66         FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM 

teenth,  seventeenth  and  eighteenth  centuries.  Among 
them  is  the  name  of  de  Dietrich,  the  first  French  Mayor 
of  Strassburg.  It  was  in  the  house  of  his  son  that  the 
Marseillaise  was  composed  and  first  sung. 

In  1809  Napoleon  gave  official  recognition  to  the 
Lutheran  Church,  having  previously  done  the  same  for 
the  Reformed  Church.  He  gave  the  Lutheran  Church 
the  old  Eglise  des  Billettes  in  Paris,  nominating  two 
titular  pastors  and  providing  the  church  with  an  endow- 
ment. This  church  then  counted  more  than  10,000 
members. 

From  1848  to  1870  the  Lutheran  Church  in  France 
enjoyed  its  period  of  greatest  prosperity.  The  ties  be- 
tween the  church  in  Alsace  and  in  other  parts  of  France 
were  very  close  and  the  prosperity  of  Alsace  was  accom- 
panied by  large  generosity  on  the  part  of  the  Alsatian 
Lutherans  to  the  churches  in  Montbeliard  and  Paris. 

The  war  of  1870  dealt  a  crushing  blow  to  the  Luth- 
eran Church  in  France.  By  Germany's  seizure  of  Alsace 
the  French  Church  lost  her  University  at  Strassburg, 
194  parishes,  250  of  her  330  ministers,  and  270,699  pa- 
rishioners. At  the  same  time  she  was  deprived  of  the 
generous  financial  support  which  she  had  been  receiving 
from  Alsatian  sources.  She  became  the  church  of  the 
defeated  and  the  period  of  suffering  upon  which  she  then 
entered  has  lasted  until  the  present  day.  Because  of  her 
poverty  she  was  obliged  to  confine  her  operations  to  a 
few  districts;  Paris,  Montbeliard  (near  Belfort  on  the 
eastern  frontier),  Lyons,  Elbeuf,  Nice,  and  Algeria.  She 
had  neither  the  men  nor  the  means  to  follow  the  Alsatian 
immigrant  who  settled  in  Eastern  France.  Nevertheless 
she  succeeded  in  maintaining  the  centers  previously  estab- 


FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM  €1 

lished.  Her  theological  faculty  was  suppressed,  the  pro- 
fessors removing  to  Paris,  where  with  professors  of  the 
Reformed  Churches  they  formed  the  present  Theologi- 
cal Faculty  of  Paris.  Her  charitable  institutions  have 
been  kept  up  and  enlarged,  new  charities,  hospitals  and 
deaconess  homes  have  been  established,  and  by  her  Mis- 
sion Inferietcre,  which  combines  social  welfare  and  home 
mission  work,  she  has  founded  new  parishes  in  the  sub- 
urbs of  Paris. 

In  1872  the  Church  was  reorganized  to  meet  the  diffi- 
culties which  the  war  had  created.  The  two  inspections 
(dioceses)  of  MontbeHard  and  Paris  were  united  under 
a  synodical  form  of  government.  This  organization  suc- 
cessfully met  the  crisis  caused  by  the  separation  of 
Church  and  State  in  1906.  Its  entire  budget  had  been 
subscribed  by  voluntary  contributions  by  the  time  the 
separation  went  into  effect. 

At  the  present  time  the  Church  has  58  churches,  di- 
vided into  two  inspections  (dioceses),  one  for  Paris  and 
Algeria,  and  one  for  the  Pays  de  MontbeHard.  It  has 
80  ministers  and  two  ecclesiastical  inspectors  (bishops). 
In  Paris  it  has  ten  churches  with  24  pastors.  At  the 
time  of  the  separation  it  had  about  30,000  members 
(whole  families  included).  In  its  membership  are  men 
of  high  standing  in  the  university,  the  army,  in  law, 
commerce  and  industry.^ 


*  Dr.  Chauncey  W.  Goodrich,  pastor  of  the  American  Church 
in  Paris,  thus  writes  of  the  Lutherans  of  France: 

'They  are  among  the  most  intensely  loyal  of  French  people, 
and  as  they  were  the  first  French  Protestants  to  suffer  death  for 
their  faith,  they  have  maintained  a  vigorous  religious  life  in  the 
center  of  France  throughout  the  generations.  It  is  somewhat 
symbolic  of  their  intense  loyalty  that  the  Statue  of  Liberty,  a 


68         FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM 

Evangelical  Methodist  Churches  of  France.  Metho- 
dism was  introduced  into  France  in  1818  by  the  English 
Wesleyan,  Charles  Cook,  not  as  a  new  denomination  but 
as  a  society  within  the  Reformed  (the  old  Huguenot) 
Church,  which  it  hoped  to  revive.  Through  Cook  and 
his  associates  a  new  spirit  was  infused  into  French  Prot- 
estantism. But  opposition  in  some  cases  and  in  others 
the  force  of  circumstances  led  eventually  to  the  forming 
of  separate  congregations  in  Normandy,  in  the  east  and 
the  south  of  France  and  in  Paris.  The  movement  re- 
ceived much  help  from  the  Channel  Islands. 

There  are  now  30  Methodist  (Wesleyan)  churches  ^ 
and  30  pastors,  divided  into  two  Regional  Districts, 
south  and  north,  and  meeting  in  annual  General  Synod. 
As  they  had  never  received  help  from  the  State  the 
separation  law  only  incidentally  affected  them. 

Union  of  French-Speaking  Baptist  Churches.     The 

first  Baptist  churches  in  France  w^ere  organized  through 

the   instrumentality   of   the   American   Baptist   Foreign 

gift  from  the  French  Republic  to  America,  should  have  been 
designed  by  a  Lutheran  and  an  Alsatian.  The  Bartholdi  family- 
are  all  of  this  stock. 

The  French  Lutherans  have  always  carried  a  heavy  burden  of 
mission  work,  and  they  have  much  to  show  for  their  efforts  in 
seeking  out  neglected  parts  of  this  city,  and  building  up,  from 
small  beginnings,  strong  and  devoted  churches.  Their  financial 
burden  is,  however,  likely  soon  to  be  increased  by  the  repatria- 
tion of  Alsace.  The  Protestants  in  that  country  are  being  sys- 
tematically impoverished  by  the  seizure  of  personal  property, 
etc.,  and  when  evacuation  by  the  Germans  comes  the  Church 
will  be  in  desperate  need,  and  will  look  to  the  French  Lutherans 
for  help,  ...  I  have  visited  personally  many  of  the  hospitals 
and  homes  of  the  Lutheran  Church  and  have  been  greatly  im- 
pressed by  the  practical  efficiency  with  which  they  are  run. 
Certainly  I  have  seen  nothing  better  in  Protestant  work  in 
France. 

^  This  does  not  include  the  mission  churches  established  by 
the  American  Methodist  Church  (see  p.  183  f.). 


FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM  69 

Mission  Society  (see  p.  185  f.).  After  1856  supervision 
of  the  work  was  left  with  French  leaders,  of  whom  the 
Rev.  J.  B.  Cretin  was  perhaps  the  most  prominent.  The 
Baptist  churches  shared  to  the  full  the  stimulus  result- 
ing from  the  founding  of  the  McAll  Mission.^ 

Twenty-nine  Baptist  churches  are  organized  in  two 
bodies:  The  Baptist  Churches  of  the  Franco-Belgian 
Association,  and  the  Baptist  Churches  of  the  Franco- 
Swiss  Association,  the  two  including  36  pastors,  evan- 
gelists, foreign  missionaries  and  elders. 

The  first  Association  comprises  the  Baptist  churches  in 
the  north  of  France  and  in  Belgium.  The  general  fund 
of  this  group  is  mainly  provided  by  grants  from  the 
American  Baptist  Foreign  Mission  Society.  Before  the 
war  there  were  eleven  salaried  pastors  in  this  Associa- 
tion, six  of  them  stationed  in  the  subsequently  invaded 
regions.  The  Franco-Swiss  Committee  has  charge  of 
the  Baptist  churches  in  the  east  of  France  and  in  French- 
speaking  Switzerland,  the  latter  having  associated  them- 
selves with  the  churches  of  eastern  France.^ 

Independent  Churches.  These  number  about  30 
churches  with  40  pastors  or  evangelists. 

Chief  among  the  independent  churches  are  those 
founded  in  the  middle  of  the  last  century  by  the  English- 

^  Rev.  Ruben  Saillens,  the  Baptist  evangelist,  now  one  of  the 
leading  pulpit  orators  of  France,  received  his  training  in  this 
mission. 

-  A  ver}^  godly  man,  Pastor  Robert,  of  Neuchatel,  upon  his 
death  left  a  church  which  was  practi'^^lly  Baptist,  since  all_  its 
members  had  been  immersed.  His  influence  had  extended  into 
many  of  the  surrounding  towns,  among  which  was  Tramelan, 
a  Village  situated  high  up  in  the  Jura  Mountains.  When  these 
people  learned  through  Dr.  Saillens  that  the  Baptist  churches 
in  France  were  identical  with  theirs  in  faith  and  practice,  they 
came  over  in  a  body  and  united  with  them. 


70         FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM 

man,  J.  M.  Darby,  one  of  the  most  brilliant  among  the 
Plymouth  Brethren.  With  few  leaders  of  note  and  never 
publishing  any  statistics,  they  are  less  known  than  their 
numbers  would  seem  to  warrant.  Numerous  congrega- 
tions calling  themselves  Darbyists  may  be  found  in  the 
Departments  of  the  Upper  Loire  and  Ardeche  and  scat- 
tered through  many  parts  of  France  and  Belgium.  Their 
main  contribution  to  the  church  universal  has  been  their 
teaching  of  the  priesthood  of  believers. 

About  two  hundred  people,  descendants  possibly  of  the 
"prophets"  of  the  Desert,  holding  views  analogous  to 
those  of  the  Friends,  though  by  no  means  deriving  their 
tenets  from  England,  have  linked  themselves  with  the 
English  Friends.  Probably  the  sect  existed  in  France  as 
early  as  in  England,  though  neither  was  known  to  the 
other.  Excellent  Christians  have  risen  from  this  small 
group.  There  are  also  several  small  bodies  of  Men- 
nonites. 

In  addition  to  organized  Protestants,  several  thousand 
disse mines  or  scattered  Protestants,  live  far  from  any 
church  and  too  far  apart  to  be  gathered  into  churches. 
This  condition  has  thrown  a  burden  upon  the  home  mis- 
sion societies,  and  thus  upon  the  churches. 

Training  of  Ministers 

Two  Protestant  Divinity  Seminaries  are  established  in 
France.  The  older,  the  Montauban  Faculty,  is  the  theo- 
logical school  of  the  Evangelical  Reformed  Churches, 
which  have  also  a  Preparatory  Divinity  School  in  Paris. 
The  Paris  Faculty,  founded  after  the  loss  of  the  Strass- 
burg  Faculty,  trains  both  Reformed  and  Lutheran  min- 


FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM  71 

isters.     The  Reformed  churches  also  have  a  preparatory- 
school  in  Nimes. 

The  Methodist  Church  has  a  theological  school  in 
Neuilly.  The  Baptist  churches  have  a  school  for  evan- 
gelists in  Paris.  As  yet,  however,  the  Baptists  have  no 
theological  school.  Their  students  usually  take  a  pre- 
paratory course  with  a  pastor  and  then  go  to  a  Baptist 
seminary  in  England,  generally  to  Spurgeon's  College. 
Many  Baptist  students  attend  the  convention  held  each 
summer  at  Merges  in  Switzerland  which  is  usually  led 
by  Pastor  Saillens. 

The  Protestant  Churches  of  Belgium 

In  1830,  when  Belgium  became  an  independent  nation, 
no  Belgian  Protestants  were  to  be  found  except  a  few 
small  groups  near  Mons,  Ghent,  Tournai,  Rongy  and 
Maria  Hausbeck.  The  Spanish  Inquisition  had  wiped 
them  out. 

The  Union  of  Evangelical  Protestant  Churches  of 
Belgium.  Under  the  Napoleonic  and  the  Dutch  re- 
gimes a  few  additional  congregations  were  organized  in 
the  large  cities  for  foreign  Protestant  residents :  Dutch^ 
Swiss,  British  and  German.  Leopold  I,  himself  a  Prot- 
estant, brought  with  him  from  Saxony  several  Protestant 
officials.  These  congregations  were  organized  as  the 
Union  des  Eglises  Protestantes  Evangcliques  de  Belgique, 
recognized  by  the  State  on  the  same  legal  footing  as  the 
Roman  Catholic  Church,  the  state  providing  the  salaries 
of  pastors  with  churches  and  manses.  In  1914  this  Union 
consisted  of  28  churches  and  mission  stations  with  38 
pastors  and  evangelists. 


n         FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM 

Through  the  work  of  these  churches  and  of  the  Com- 
mission d' Evangelisation,  a  home  missionary  committee 
not  supported  by  the  State,  many  Belgian  converts  have 
been  added.  The  descendants  of  foreign  Protestants 
have  become  thoroughly  assimilated  and  in  the  recent  war 
were  most  loyal  to  Belgium.  Among  the  influential  citi- 
zens who  are  members  of  this  church  are  the  Belgian 
Foreign  Minister  at  Havre,  M.  Paul  Hymans,  leader  of 
the  Opposition  in  the  Belgian  House  of  Representatives, 
and  Professor  P.  Frederick  of  Ghent,  the  historian  of  the 
Reformation  in  Belgium,  who  was  deported  to  Germany. 

The  Belgian  Missionary  Church.  In  1837  a  com- 
mittee of  laymen  with  three  pastors  of  the  then  existing 
churches,  one  of  them  the  Rev.  Jonathan  de  Visme, 
formed  the  Societe  cvangelique  helgc  (the  Belgian  Evan- 
gelical Society)  for  the  purpose  of  spreading  the  Gospel. 
Its  field  lies  chiefly  among  the  w^orking  people,  especially 
the  coal  miners,  and  in  many  respects  it  resembles  the 
Central  Evangelical  Society  in  the  north  of  France. 
Many  churches  have  grown  out  of  the  evangelizing  tours, 
open  air  and  cottage  meetings  of  this  organization.  All 
Belgium  is  considered  its  parish.  Its  fixed  purpose  is  to 
make  the  Gospel  known  thrpughout  the  country,  thus 
bringing  back  the  glorious  past  when  more  than  six 
hundred  pastors  were  ministering  in  Belgium. 

There  are  now  43  churches  with  stations  and  posts  for 
regular  services  in  143  different  places,  with  30  pastors, 
18  evangehsts  and  Bible  readers.  The  organization  has 
78  ''temples"  and  rented  halls.  The  12,000  registered 
members  have  nearly  all  come  out  from  the  Roman 
Catholic  Church  or  from  free  thinking  people.  With 
these    are    many    non-registered    attendants    who    fre- 


FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM  IZ 

quently  ask  for  pastoral  ministry.  Nearly  all  are  of  the 
laboring  and  industrial  classes ;  few  are  from  the  middle 
classes.  Yet  since  the  outbreak  of  war  an  evident  in- 
terest has  been  shown  by  the  professional  classes,  who 
have  been  impressed  by  the  courageous  and  dignified  at- 
titude of  these  churches,  and  an  encouraging  number 
have  become  registered  members.^ 

Home  Missions 

All  the  Reformed  Churches  are  engaged  in  home  mis- 
sion work,  and  have  accordingly  constituted  general  and 
regional  home  mission  boards,  but  two  great  societies  are 
conspicuously  devoted  to  home  missions,  the  Central 
Evangelical  Society  and  the  Popular  Evangelical  Mission 
of  France  (McAll  Mission).  In  addition  there  are  the 
Mission  Interieure  of  the  Reformed  Churches  and  the 
Mission  Interieure  of  the  Lutheran  Church. 

The  Central  Evangelical  Society  (Sociefe  Centrale 
Evangeliqiie)  was  created  in  1847  as  the  Central  Society 
by  the  union  of  the  Bordeaux  Society  for  Evangelization, 
the  Christian  Society  of  the  North  and  the  Normandy 
Society  for  Evangelization,  and  was  enlarged  in  1910  by 
merging  with  it  the  Evangelical  Society  of  France,  which 
had  been  carrying  on  itinerant  work  since  1833.  Its 
president  is  M.  Emile  Soulie  and  its  director  Pastor  Paul 
Barde.     The  object  of  this  strong  society  has  been  to 

^  In  the  general  poverty  and  distress  nothing  has  been  more 
admirable  than  the  spirit  of  devotion  and  HberaHty  of  the  Bel- 
gian churches.  Each  year  of  the  war  the  Belgian  IMissionary 
Church  received  from  its  own  members  at  least  50  per  cent  of 
what  they  used  to  contribute  in  time  of  peace  and  plenty.  In 
1917-18,  they  even  gave  12  per  cent  more  than  during  the  pre- 
ceding financial  year. 


74         FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM 

provide  for  the  religious  needs  of  scattered  Protestants 
and  form  them  into  groups,  and  since  the  passage  of  the 
liberalizing  law  of  1878  also  to  evangelize  non-Prot- 
estants. Its  various  departments  cover  the  entire  terri- 
tory of  France  (228  stations  and  out-stations),  and  from 
it  have  grown  124  churches,  93  of  which  have  joined  the 
Reformed  Churches  and  the  remainder  the  Free  and 
Lutheran  Churches.  No  society  is  more  faithfully  sup- 
ported by  French  Protestants.  Not  more  than  from  eight 
to  ten  per  cent  of  its  budget  (in  1914,  $106,000)  has  been 
received  from  abroad. 

An  important  branch  of  the  work  of  the  Central  So- 
ciety is  the  Section  for  French  colonies,  or  more  correctly 
^'Association  for  the  Development  and  Maintenance  of 
Protestant  Worship  in  French  Colonies  and  Protec- 
torates." Founded  in  1862,  when  evangelistic  work  was 
strictly  confined  by  law  to  Protestant  soldiers,  officials 
and  colonists,  its  value  has  been  made  strikingly  evident 
during  the  present  w^ar  by  the  numbers  and  the  admirable 
conduct  of  Protestant  ''colonials"  in  the  army.  The 
Society  works  in  seven  fields,  Algeria,  Morocco,  Cochin- 
China,  New  Caledonia,  Tonkin,  Tunis  and  Senegal. 

The  Popular  Evangelical  Mission  of  France 
(McAll  Mission)  has  31  stations  with  25  agents,  lay 
and  ordained.  This  mission  is  especially  addressed  to 
the  non-church  going  population  and  is  received  with 
wonderful  alacrity  by  the  working  people  and  vs^ith 
marked  approbation  by  the  civil  authority.  The  first 
hall  was  inaugurated  in  January,  1872,  and  six  weeks 
after  a  second  was  opened.  In  the  autumn  "Thursday 
Schools"  were  begun  for  religious  and  manual  instruction 
of  children  and  in  January,  1873,  Sunday  Schools.    With- 


FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM  7S 

in  a  few  years  there  were  25  halls  in  Paris  and  113  scat- 
tered through  the  provinces  of  France,  Algeria  and 
Corsica.  Many  of  these  halls  have  been  taken  over  by 
near-by  churches.  Two  mission  boats  ply  on  the  water- 
ways  of  France,  with  itinerants  and  colporteurs  to  follow 
up  their  work,  an  Automobile  Mission  in  Brittany,  six 
portable  halls  for  pioneering  work  (of  which  one,  sta- 
tioned in  the  north,  was  taken  by  the  invaders  in  August, 
1914),  and  in  later  years  solidarities,  fraternities, 
people's  foyers — all  of  them  forms  of  neighborhood 
work  on  a  strictly  religious  basis — have  well  proved  the 
truth  of  the  unknov/n  working  man's  statement:  *'We 
are  ready,  if  someone  will  come  and  teach  us  the  true 
religion  of  freedom  and  reality"  (see  p.  42).  Although 
its  aim  is  **not  to  found  churches,  but  to  feed  them," 
at  least  eight  Protestant  churches  have  grown  out  of 
its  work  in  regions  where  none  existed  before.  Except 
in  these  cases,  the  numerous  converts  of  the  Mission 
unite  with  the  nearest  Protestant  church,  especially  when, 
as  is  almost  invariably  the  case,  the  pastors  of  these 
churches  have  helped  in  the  Mission  by  preaching  at 
regular  stated  times  in  one  or  another  of  the  halls  or 
on  a  mission  boat.  Thousands  have  been  brought  to 
Christ,  hundreds  of  lives  have  been  transformed  and 
numbers  of  missionaries,  pastors  and  social  workers  have 
come  up  from  the  humble  halls  of  the  IMcAll  ^Mission. 
It  is  to  the  cooperation  of  Protestant  pastors  and  people 
that  the  great  efficiency  of  this  work  is  largely  due. 
Though  largely  supported  by  foreign  contributions, 
without  their  help  the  mission  could  not  have  lived.^ 

*  The  Mission  has  not  been  slow  to  repay  the  service.     IMany  a 
pastor  of  the  present  generation  owes  his  practical  efficiency  to 


1(>        FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM 

As  the  ;McA11  Mission  brought  to  the  unchurched  an 
assurance  of  that  fraternity  of  which  they  were  dream- 
ing, so  to  the  hard  pressed  Protestant  churches  it  brought 
an  evidence  of  Christian  brotherhood  that  gave  them  new 
heart.  It  was  an  illustration  of  the  Christian  aggressive- 
ness of  Protestants  in  lands  where  initiative  was  un- 
checked, an  example  of  Christian  social  activity.  It 
proved  to  be  a  training  school  for  lay  efforts.  "The 
Mission  serves  our  churches  in  a  way  peculiarly  its  own," 
said  Pastor  Edmond  de  Pressense,  ''offering  to  both 
pastors  and  people  the  broadest  and  most  beautiful  form 
of  evangelical  alliance."  ^ 

The  Home  Mission  (Mission  Interieiire)  of  the  Re- 
formed Churches  forms  local  groups  of  believers,  which 
are  visited  by  itinerant  agents,  especially  in  the  south  of 
France. 

The  Mission  Interieure  of  the  Lutheran  Church, 
founded  in  1830,  sought  to  evangelize  Catholics,  to 
search  out  dispersed  Protestants,  to  found  schools  where 
services  might  be  held,  and  which  might  later  become 


the  training  he  received  in  its  halls;  many  a  missionary,  evan- 
gelist, Bible  reader,  heard  the  call  to  service  from  its  platform. 
The  missionary  Frederic  Christol  was  a  3'oung  artist  who, 
returning  from  his  army  service  in  1872,  was  attracted  by  the 
personality  of  Mr.  McAll  and  placed  his  pencil  and  then  himself 
at  the  service  of  the  Mission.  He  was  converted  in  the  hall  that 
he  served,  and  gave  up  the  brilliant  career  that  his  artistic  suc- 
cesses promised,  to  follow  Francois  Coillard  to  the  mission  field 
in  South   Africa. 

*  Though  the  work  may  well  be  called  international,  English- 
men and  Americans  sittim?  with  distinguished  Frenchmen  upon 
its  directing  board,  it  has  Ions:  been  a  thoroughly  French  work, 
in  which  volunteers  from  other  countries  love  to  join.  Pastor 
Eugene  Bersier  for  manv  years  gave  two  eveninsrs  every  week 
to  preaching  in  these  halls,  and  the  last  ministerial  acts  of  his 
life  were  to  sit  upon  a  McAll  council  and  nreach  in  a  McAll  hall. 


FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM  71 

district  churches.  When  a  local  effort  became  suf- 
ficiently important,  the  consistory  adopted  it  and  recom- 
mended it  to  the  State.  The  latter  then  guaranteed  the 
pastor's  salary  and  the  Mission  extended  its  activity  to 
another  point.  Although  the  State  creaed  no  new  posts 
after  1880,  and  although  the  separation  of  Church  and 
State  has  increased  its  expenses,  this  society  has  con- 
tinued to  maintain  six  parishes,  and  has  founded  three 
new  centers :  St.  Ouen,  Persan-Baumont  and  Vanves, 
with  an  annual  budget  of  42,000  francs. 

The  French  Baptist  Home  Mission.  The  Baptist 
work  has  had  its  share  in  the  wave  of  affliction  which 
has  passed  over  the  once  prosperous  North.  Hundreds 
of  happy  homesteads  built  around  its  chapels  have 
been  destroyed  and  scattered,  and  their  former  inmates 
exiled.  Those  of  the  Franco-Belgian  Baptist  churches 
that  are  still  in  existence  have  labored  under  great  trials 
but  with  indestructible  faith.  Services  have  almost 
everywhere  been  carried  on  regularly.  In  some  places 
in  the  war  zone,  for  instance  at  Montbeliard,  the  work 
was  hampered  by  military  regulations,  but  in  other  cases 
there  were  something  like  revival  times,  though  the 
hymns  to  the  praise  of  God  had  the  dismal  accompani- 
ment of  the  cannon  bass. 

The  work  of  the  Franco-Swiss  Association  lies  in 
strategic  points  which  are  admirably  suited  as  a  basis 
for  further  advance.  These  are  either  large  cities  such 
as  Paris,  Lyons,  Marseilles  and  Nice,  where  the  workers 
have  to  deal  chiefly  with  the  Roman  Catholics,  or  the 
most  important  centers  of  the  French  speaking  Prot- 
estant districts,  as  Geneva,  Nimes,  Montbeliard,  Chaux 
de  Fonds. 


78         FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM 

The  Priest  Work  {Ocitvrc  dcs  Prctrcs)  was  founded 
in  1884,  at  the  time  of  the  great  movement  ''away  from 
Rome,"  by  M.  Eugene  Reveillaud,  then  a  deputy,  now  a 
•senator,  and  up  to  the  outbreak  of  the  war  it  had  aided 
nearly  five  hundred  priests  who  had  given  up  their  cures. 
In  1910  it  opened  in  Paris  a  fraternity  which  has  now 
become  independent  of  the  original  work.  A  small 
number  of  former  priests  have  become  Protestant 
pastors,  but  the  majority  of  them,  not  having  sufficient 
education  for  the  pastorate,  have  entered  other  callings. 

Among  local  home  mission  efforts  the  following  may 
be  mentioned,  the  Barbezieux  Work,  the  Pons  Work, 
the  Upper  Aragon  Mission  in  the  Pyrenees  and  several 
missions  in  Brittany.  The  activity  of  the  Evangelical 
Society  of  Geneva  and  of  the  Salvation  Army  should  not 
be  forgotten. 

Bible  Societies  are  spreading  the  Scriptures  in  France. 

The  Protestant  Bible  Society  of  Paris,  the  oldest 
religious  society  of  French  Protestantism  founded  in 
1818,  has  always  made  generous  distribution  of  Bibles, 
New  Testaments  and  Scripture  portions. 

The  Bible  Society  of  France  was  founded  in  1864 
for  a  similar  purpose.^ 

The  British  and  Foreign  Bible  Society,  has  main- 
tained a  branch  in  France  with  a  French  General 
Secretary. 

The  subject  of  evangelization  has  been  of  growling 
interest,  especially  since  the  separation  of  Church  and 


'  The  American  Bible  Society  has  loni^  made  contributions  of 
-money  to  these  societies.  It  seems  probable  that  they  will  ere 
long  be  merged  into  one  as  a  result  of  the  initiative  of  the 
French  Protestant  Federation. 


FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM  79 

State  gave  full  religious  freedom  to  all  persons.  In  1913 
a  Conference  of  Evangelization  was  called  by  the  Central 
Evangelical  Society  to  meet  in  Paris  in  May.  It  was 
largely  attended  and  papers  of  extraordinary  value  were 
presented,^ 


Foreign  Missions 

The  Foreign  Missionary  Society  (Societe  des  Mis- 
sions Evangeliqites  chez  Ics  pat  pies  non  Chretiens)  y 
known  as  the  Paris  Missionary  Society,  was  founded  in 
1822  and  has  seven  fields,  the  last  two  in  Oceania : 
Basutoland,  Zambezi,  French  Congo,  Senegal,  Mada- 
gascar, New  Caledonia,  Tahiti.  (For  particulars  see 
Section  III.) 

The  Lutheran  Church  has  always  taken  her  full  share 
in  the  work  of  the  Paris  Missionary  Society,  which  is 
the  missionary  agency  of  nearly  all  the  churches.  This 
church,  having  been  brought  into  touch  with  the  Nor- 
wegian and  the  American  Scandinavian  Missions  in 
Madagascar  through  the  French  conquest  of  the  island. 


^  The  evangelization  of  the  laboring  classes,  of  the  intellectual 
classes  and  of  the  rural  districts  were  the  three  special  subjects 
considered.  Resolutions  were  adopted  relative  to  Protestant 
schools,  classes  for  the  study  of  the  Bible  and  of  social  questions, 
the  founding  of  missionary  churches  and  the  training  of  evan- 
gelists, and  it  was  recommended  that  another  congress  be  called 
the  following  year  to  consider  especially  the  creation  of  a  com- 
mittee to  connect  the  work  of  all  the  evangelizing  societies  in 
France.  It  is  a  sorrowful  fact  that  the  outbreak  of  war  pre- 
vented the  assembling  of  the  second  congress.  Happily  the 
proceedings  of  the  first  were  published  in  a  volume  of  426 
octavo  pages  and  remain  a  manual  of  valuable  information  and 
instruction  for  all  workers  in  this  field. 


80         FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM 

furnished  these  missions  French  helpers  to  train  French- 
speaking  teachers. 

The  Methodist  churches  entirely  support  the  French 
Protestant  Mission  among  the  Kabyles  in  Algeria. 

In  Algeria  the  Baptists  also  have  a  few  missionary 
stations  connected  with  their  work  among  Spanish- 
speaking  people. 

The  Belgian  Congo  Missionary  Society  (Societe 
beige  des  missions  protestanfes  an  Congo).  The  Belgian 
churches  have  always  sent  substantial  donations  to  the 
Paris  Missionary  Society.  When  the  Congo  Free  State 
became  a  Belgian  colony,  Belgian  Protestants  felt  a  spe- 
cial responsibility  with  regard  to  the  native  tribes.  In 
1910  the  Belgian  Congo  Missionary  Society  was  founded 
by  the  joint  action  of  the  synods  of  the  Established  and 
the  Missionary  Churches.  In  1911,  the  Director  of  Mis- 
sions, Dr.  Henri  Anet,  visited  the  American,  British  and 
Swedish  missions  in  the  Belgian  Congo.  He  represented 
these  missions  in  their  relations  with  the  Belgian  govern- 
ment and  in  many  cases  brought  about  a  better  under- 
standing. Four  young  Belgians  had  for  several  years 
been  working  with  the  English  Baptist  and  the  American 
Presbyterian  Congo  Missions. 

Inter-Church  Organizations 

The  Protestant  Federation  of  France.  Long  before 
the  separation  of  Church  and  State  there  was  a  general 
desire  for  a  closer  union  among  Protestants,  already 
closely  bound  by  united  work  in  missionary  and  benevo- 
lent operations.  In  1892,  to  insure  the  representation  of 
French  Protestant  activities  at  the  Columbian  Exposition 


FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM  81 

in  Chicago,  Pastor  Decoppet  of  the  Church  of  the  Ora- 
toire  formed  a  committee  which  undertook  to  publish 
the  monumental  "Golden  Book  of  French  Protestantism," 
a  superb  quarto,  edited  by  M.  Frank  Puaux  and  setting 
forth  the  religious,  charitable  and  missionary  works  of 
French  Protestantism. 

For  a  time  nothing  further  came  of  this  federative 
effort,  but  in  1903  Pastor  Decoppet's  successor.  Pastor 
Wilfred  Monod,  a  guest  of  the  Synod  of  the  Free 
Churches  held  at  Clairac,  so  presented  the  cause  of  fed- 
eration as  to  lead  to  the  unanimous  adoption  by  the 
Synod,  of  an  appeal  "to  all  Christians  who  are  sons  of 
the  Reformation  to  take  measures  for  removing  the  bar- 
riers between  the  churches  and  to  facilitate  their  fraternal 
collaboration  in  the  service  of  God  for  humanity." 

The  invitation  v;as  received  with  joy  by  the  Synods 
of  the  several  Churches;  in  1904  a  commission  was 
formed  for  the  study  of  the  subject,  and  in  September, 
1905,  representatives  of  the  Reformed  Church  of  France, 
the  "Liberal  Delegation"  (not  as  yet  set  apart  from  the 
old  Huguenot  body),  the  "Churches  of  the  Augsburg 
Confession"  (Lutherans),  the  Free  Churches  and  the 
(Wesleyan)  Methodist  Churches  formed  the  Protestant 
Federation  of  France,  which  at  least  nominally  became 
the  central  organ  of  French  Protestantism,  with  official 
powers. 

The  deep  preoccupations  preceding  and  following  the 
passage  of  the  Disestablishment  Law,  with  the  necessity 
of  reorganizing  such  churches  as  had  until  that  time  been 
officially  connected  with  the  State,  delayed  the  complete 
organization  of  the  Federation  until  the  spring  of  1907. 


82         FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM 

The  Council  of  the  Federation  then  transmitted  to  the 
Hague  Conference  through  the  French  Ambassador,  M. 
Bourgeois,  the  following  message,  signed  by  the  Presi- 
dent of  the  Council  of  the  Federation,  Edouard  Gruner, 
and  the  Secretary,  H.  Cordey: 

The  Protestant  Federation  of  France,  which  unites  in  a  single 
body  almost  the  entirety  of  the  Protestant  Churches  of  France, 
transmits  to  the  Conference  of  The  Hague  the  expression  of  its 
respectful  sympathy  and  its  ardent  hope  for  the  near  and  defini- 
tive triumph  of  the  ideas  of  international  arbitration  and  of 
peace. 

It  invokes  the  blessing  of  God  upon  the  deliberations  of  the 
Conference. 

Since  that  time  until  1914  the  Churches  have  annually 
observed  a  Peace  Sunday.  At  the  first  General  Assembly 
of  French  Protestantism,  held  at  Nimes,  October,  1909, 
the  Constitution  of  the  Protestant  Federation  was  pub- 
licly adopted.  The  adherence  of  the  Baptist  Churches, 
which  send  delegates  to  the  Council  of  the  Federation, 
has  further  enlarged  its  influence.^ 

Since  the  outbreak  of  war  the  Federation  has  more 
than  once  been  called  to  utter  an  energetic  protest  against 
the  abuse  of  force  and  the  violation  of  human  and  divine 


*  By  Its  Constitution  the  Federation  was  held  to  convoke  quln- 
quennially  a  General  Assembly  of  French  Protestantism  to  which 
delegates  from  the  independent  churches  were  also  admitted. 
The  second  of  these  Assemblies  was  about  to  be  called  to  meet 
in  Lyons  in  October,  1914,  when  the  outbreak  of  war  summoned 
all  French  Protestants,  pastors  and  laity,  to  the  duty  of  defend- 
ing their  invaded  country.  Even  the  one  General  Assembly  had 
already  proved  the  value  of  such  plenary  meetings,  in  which, 
as  one  pastor  afterward  said,  Protestants  could  learn  to  know 
and  love  one  another.  *'This  first  experience  of  interecclesias- 
tical  fraternity  is  decisive  and  a  cause  for  rejoicing.    One  could 


FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM  83 

laws.  In  the  early  months  of  the  war  the  Federation 
formed  a  Committee  of  Propaganda  in  Foreign  Parts 
(Comife  Protestant  Frangais  de  la  Propagande  dans  les 
Pays  Strangers),  calling  to  its  presidency  Professor 
Andre  Weiss  of  the  Institute  of  France.  This  Com- 
mittee is  the  organ  of  the  Federation  for  relations  with 
other  Protestant  nations.  It  founded  a  Bulletin  which  is 
widely  circulated  among  French-speaking  peoples,  bring- 
ing to  their  knowledge  the  part  of  French  Protestantism 
in  important  national  events.  The  Federation  and  the 
Committee  of  Propaganda  united  in  sending  delegates 
to  Holland  and  the  Scandinavian  countries,  and  on 
June  3,  1917,  they  invited  the  Ambassador  of  the 
United  States  to  celebrate  with  them,  by  a  solemn  act 
of  worship,  the  entrance  of  the  United  States  into  the 
war. 

Educational  and  Moral  Agencies 

A  few  of  the  leading  societies  for  religious  and  moral 
education  which  give  assistance  to  the  efforts  of  the 
churches  and  to  the  private  activities  of  their  members 
may  be  mentioned:  Society  for  the  Promoting  of  Pri- 
mary Teaching  among  the  Protestants  of  France 
(founded  in  1829),  Sunday  School  and  Religious  Tract 

hardly  have  expected  so  complete  a  fusion  of  souls.  It  has 
proved  the  moral  and  even  the  religious  unity  of  Protestantism." 
During  the  ten  years  of  its  existence  the  Protestant  Federation 
of  France  has  been  more  and  m.ore  frequently  summoned  to 
become  the  voice  of  the  Protestant  conscience,  stressing  the 
importance  of  religious  Hberty  in  France  and  its  colonies,  bring- 
ing its  influence  to  bear  upon  the  passage  and  observance  of 
laws  to  check  intemperance  and  public  immorality,  and  appealing 
to  the  public  sense  of  responsibility  for  oppressed  peoples,  or  for 
regions  suffering  under  any  form  of  evil. 


84         FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM 

Society,  Society  for  the  History  of  French  Protestant- 
ism, French  Temperance  Society  of  the  Blue  Cross,  the 
French  Band  of  Hope  (Espoir)  and  the  White  Star,  a 
purity  league. 

Benevolent  Agencies 

The  Diaconate.  In  early  days  the  "care  of  the 
poor"  of  the  churches  was  placed,  in  accordance  with  the 
apostolic  ruling,  under  the  charge  of  a  body  of  deacons. 
Many  considerations  tended  to  the  extinction  of  this 
custom,  but  as  the  purposes  of  French  Protestants  broad- 
ened with  the  larger  opportunities  afforded  them  by  the 
liberal  laws  of  the  Third  Republic  (1878,  1880,  1888) 
they  awoke  to  the  advantages  of  the  ancient  custom, 
which  brought  needy  Protestants  under  directly  religious 
influences,  by  which,  as  Dean  Doumergue  says,  a  Prot- 
estant church  not  only  preaches  charity,  but  carries  on  all 
social  works  with  charity.  In  1901  the  Commission  for 
Social  and  Moral  Activity  called  a  Congress  of  Diaco- 
nates.  It  was  held  in  Lille  in  October,  1902,  in  connection 
with  other  Protestant  benevolent  societies,  to  consider 
with  kindred  problems  three  special  subjects:  1.  How  to 
stimulate  the  zeal  of  deacons  and  bring  them  into  closer 
mutual  relations.  2.  How  to  associate  women  wath  the 
work.  3.  How  to  elevate  the  poor  morally,  materially, 
and  socially,  and  to  "abolish  so  far  as  possible  that  lower 
form  of  charity  known  as  alms."  ^ 

*  One  hundred  and  three  diaconates  were  represented  by  one 
hundred  and  fifty  pastors  and  laity  including  fourteen  women. 
The  ancient  discipline  of  the  Huguenot  Church  was  studied  with 
a  view  to  adapting  it  to  present  conditions,  and  recommendations 
were  made  for  the  federation  of  all  diaconates  and  for  periodi- 
cal conferences  of  deacons  and  social  workers. 


FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM  85 

With  the  separation  law  the  question  of  the  diaconate 
became  acute,  as  by  virtue  of  that  law  the  churches, 
Associations  Cultuelles,  might  not  directly  undertake  "the 
care  of  the  poor."  Three  measures  w^ere  however  open 
to  deacons.  They  might  remain  what  they  had  been,  "un- 
official" (officicux)  bodies  closely  connected  with  the 
church,  but  without  legal  existence ;  the  several  diaconates 
might  unite  under  the  Associations  law,  as  did  the  Young 
Men's  Christian  Associations  (Unions  Chretiennes  de 
Jeunes  Gens),  and  include  pastors,  deacons  and  subscrib- 
ing members ;  or,  they  might  form  themselves  into  benev- 
olent societies  {Societes  de  Bienfaisance)  which  would 
be  "recognized  as  of  public  utility"  and  therefore  com- 
petent to  receive  legacies,  which  other  Associations  may 
not.i 

The  Deaconess  Institute,  established  in  1841  in  the 
east  of  Paris,  is  in  itself  a  little  world,  containing  as  it 
does  a  training  school  for  new  deaconesses,  a  hospital  of 
which  the  children's  department  is  the  most  touching  fea- 
ture, a  reform  school  (disciplinaire)  for  girls  viciously 
disposed,  a  "preventive"  school  for  little  girls  who  had 
been  brought  under  evil  influences  and  a  Maternal  School 
for  little  children. 


^  In  1911  the  Fourteenth  Congress  of  the  Protestant  Associa- 
tion for  the  Practical  Study  of  Social  Questions  called  the 
Second  Congress  of  Diaconates  to  meet  with  it  at  its  next  Con- 
gress. Eight  hundred  and  seventy  questionnaires  had  been  sent 
out;  the  repHes  received  showed  an  important  progress  in 
Protestant  benevolence  and  in  the  activities  of  Christian  women. 
M.  Armand  Lods,  LL.D.,  editor  of  the  Review  of  Laws  and 
Jurisprudence,  presented  an  able  report  on  the  laws  relating  to 
the  diaconate,  from  1559  to  the  present  time.  Among  the  sub- 
jects discussed  the  questions  of  the  unemployed  and  the  social 
ministry  of  women  received  the  most  attention.  An  important 
feature   of   the    Congress    was   a  series   of   visits   to   the   most 


86         FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM 

Two  Protestant  Hospitals  are  worthy  of  mention. 
The  Maison  de  Sante  at  Nimes,  founded  in  1846  for 
the  poor  and  sick,  is  a  vast  building  with  a  surgical 
pavilion,  a  home  for  aged  couples,  a  special  home  for 
tuberculous  cases  and  a  training  school  for  nurses.  A 
maternity  hospital  was  in  course  of  construction  when 
the  work  was  interrupted  by  the  war.  Ninety  beds  have 
been  put  at  the  disposal  of  the  military  service. 

The  Maison  de  Sante  Protestante  at  Bordeaux, 
founded  in  1863,  is  the  only  general  Protestant  hospital 
and  nursing  school  in  France.  It  has  been  a  pioneer 
in  training  nurses  as  well  as  in  other  modern  hospital 
methods  and  its  services  are  favorably  known  through- 
out France,  especially  its  training  school  of  nurses.  It 
receives  annual  support  from  the  city  of  Bordeaux. 

The  introduction  of  the  Young  People*s  Society  of 
Christian  Endeavor  {I'Activite  Chretienne}  into  France 
by  "Father  Endeavor"  and  Mrs.  Clark  in  1890  wrought 
an  innovation  by  bringing  young  people  of  both  sexes  to 
work  together  for  religious  objects. 

There  are  institutions  for  the  deaf  and  the  blind,  homes 
for  children  whose  mothers  are  in  hospitals,  convalescent 


notable  among  the  Protestant  charitable  institutions   of   Paris, 
of  which  there  are  many, 

A  third  Congress  of  Diaconates  was  held  in  Havre  in  June, 
1914,  almost  on  the  eve  of  the  totally  unanticipated  war.  Its 
entire  proceedings  were  a  development  of  the  idea  presented  at 
its  opening  by  Professor  Maury:  "The  diaconate  should  be 
something  more  and  better  than  a  distributer  of  alms."  That 
it  already  was  so  was  evident  from  the  reports  presented.  These 
considered,  among  other  subjects,  free  loans,  mutual  loans,  the 
health  of  mothers,  "social  residences,"  and  made  arrangements 
for  the  admission  of  members  of  this  Congress  into  the  Prot- 
estant Association  for  the  Study  of  Social  Questions  under 
especially  favorable  conditions. 


FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM         S7 

homes,  homes  near  mineral  springs  for  those  afflicted 
with  special  diseases,  seaside  homes  for  the  tired  and  the 
sick,  vacation  homes  for  children.  The  work  of  "The 
Three  Weeks,'*  begun  in  1881  by  Pastor  Lorriaux  of 
Paris,  for  giving  summer  outings  to  the  children  of  the 
very  poor,  was  the  first  of  many  "Fresh  Air"  movements 
in  France.  There  are  free  dispensaries,  employment 
bureaus,  loan  associations.  The  Bordeaux  Society  for 
free  loans  founded  in  the  middle  of  the  last  century  was. 
the  first  of  its  kind  in  history.  A  society  of  lady  visitors 
in  hospitals  exists,  and  many  societies  of  friends  of  ap- 
prentices. There  is  the  work  among  women  in  prisons,, 
and  that  for  fallen  women,  a  society  to  help  liberated 
prisoners,  an  asylum  for  young  girls  morally  abandoned,, 
one  for  laborers  without  work,  a  Christian  home  for 
servants,  homes  for  working  women,  and  many  kindred 
associations.  The  sheltered,  almost  secluded  life  of 
young  girls  of  good  family  in  France,  had  so  effectually 
kept  them  aloof  from  philanthropic  work  that  it  was  an 
event  when  a  society  of  young  girls  analogous  to  our 
Needlework  Guild,  but  preceding  it  by  a  number  of  years, 
was  formed  under  the  modest  and  suggestive  name  of 
the  Foitrmis  (Ants)  in  which  7,000  to  8,000  young  girls 
are  sewing  for  the  poor. 

The  social  consciousness  of  French  Protestants  is  re- 
markably manifested  in  their  philanthropy.  They  have 
over  fifty  orphanages  and  as  many  homes  for  the  aged. 
In  1904  Protestants  in  Paris  numbered  100,000,  or  one 
in  twenty-five  of  the  population.  With  the  exception  of 
certain  bankers  and  heads  of  mercantile  houses  few  are 
wealthy.  Many  are  artisans,  laborers,  small  shopkeepers. 
Many  are  Protestants  by  inheritance  only,  rather  than  by 


88         FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM 

religious  conviction.  Yet  the  Protestants  of  Paris  main- 
tain no  fewer  than  sixty  distinct  works  of  benevolence, 
aside  from  their  strictly  religious  activities.  These 
benevolent  works  are  without  sectarian  aspect,  being  car- 
ried on  by  men  and  women  of  all  Protestant  communions. 
The  asylums  founded  in  1848  at  La  Force  (Dordogne) 
by  M.  John  Bost  seem  to  meet  ahnost  every  human  need. 
"The  Family"  for  the  children  of  scattered  Protestants, 
or  those  exposed  to  evil  influences,  **Bethesda"  for  girl 
idiots  and  incurables,  "Ebenezer"  for  epileptic  girls  and 
women,  "  Siloam'*  and  ''Bethel"  for  similarly  afflicted 
men  and  boys,  "Compassion"  and  *' Mercy"  respectively 
for  aged  governesses  and  school  mistresses,  "The  Re- 
treat" for  old  men  and  women  and  worn  out  servants. 


In  1871  Pastor  Robin  of  the  Reformed  Church,  Paris,  insti- 
tuted a  work  for  discharged  convicts,  analogous  to  the  Prison 
Association  of  America,  through  the  agency  of  which  in  less  than 
ten  years  the  number  of  Protestant  recidivists  had  diminished  by 
two-thirds. 

To  this  improvement  the  Temporary  Home  for  Working  Men 
opened  in  1880,  designed  for  strangers  coming  to  Paris  to  look 
for  work  and  for  ex -convicts,  greatly  contributed. 

A  child  saving  work  was  begun  by  Pastor  Robin  in  1872  which 
in  1874  developed  into  an  Industrial  School  and  in  1878  into  a 
Society  for  the  Education  and  Protection  of  Wayward  Prot- 
estant Children,  with  a  school  largely  supported  by  contributions 
of  the  children  of  the  churches.  The  entire  country  is  covered 
by  a  network  of  similar  activities. 

The  Agricultural  and  Industrial  Colony  of  Ste.  Foy  founded 
in  1842,  for  children  in  moral  danger,  reclaims  wayward  boys 
and  prepares  them  for  a  life  of  usefulness.  Nearly  all  are 
trained  to  farming-,  though  a  few  are  taught  out-of-doors  trades. 

The  "Children's  House"  (Maison  des  Enfants),  founded  in 
1875  by  Mile.  Lydie  Hocart,  daughter  of  Pastor  Hocart  of  the 


FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM  89 

Methodist  Church,  has  in  later  years  developed  by  the  addition 
of  a  Home  for  Boys  at  Gault-la-Foret  in  1893,  a  Convalescent 
Home  in  1904,  and  a  "Nest"  for  Babies  in  1905,  all  in  the  same 
village.  In  1896  a  Prix  Monthyon  of  1,500  francs  was  awarded 
to  Mile.  Hocart  by  the  French  Academy.  Many  youths  have 
gone  into  the  army  from  the  Home  for  Boys;  of  these  seven 
had  died  or  were  missing  by  1917. 


Belgian  Protestant  Works  of  Benevolence  and 
Education 

Works  of  Philanthropy.  1.  Protestant  Orphanage  at 
Uccle,  near  Brussels,  established  in  1866.  2.  Home  for 
Aged  People,  in  Brussels.  3.  Qinic  of  The  Netherland 
Church  of  Brussels.  4.  Deaconess  Work  of  the  Mission 
Church  near  Mons.  5.  Deaconesses  of  the  Borinage, 
in  the  district  of  Mons.  6.  House  of  Refuge,  rescue 
home  for  girls.  Unsectarian,  but  organized  at  the  initia- 
tive of  Protestant  ladies.  It  has  a  very  fine  new  building 
in  Brussels.^ 

Temperance  Societies.^    For  thirty  years  the  initiative 

^  The  charitable  activity  of  the  churches  is  chiefly  that  of 
medical  missions.  A  few  years  before  the  v/ar  a  hospital  was 
established  at  Liege;  wounded  soldiers  have  been  nursed  there 
and  later  many  civilians  without  distinction  of  creed.  At 
Brussels,  Namur,  in  the  district  of  Mons,  etc.,  Protestant 
deaconesses  in  clinics  and  in  homes  have  helped  man}  thou- 
sands of  sufferers,  few  of  whom  belonged  to  Protestant  con- 
gregations. In  some  industrial  regions,  the  Protestant  clinics 
were  the  only  places  where  the  poor  could  be  nursed  free  of 
charge.  Abandoned  war  orphans  are  sent  to  Uccle,  which  has 
the  only  Protestant  orphanage  in  Belgium. 

'  The  Blue  Cross  Society  established  about  1886,  requires  from 
its  members  a  pledge  of  total  abstinence.  The  Blue  Star  Society 
founded  in  1897,  counted  2,000  members  in  1914.  It  requires 
total  abstinence  from  alcoholic  liquors  but  permits  the  moderate 
use  of  the  light  native  beers.  This  concession  was  due  to  the 
poor  drinking  water  in  the  industrial  districts. 


90         FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM 

in  direct  rescue  and  temperance  work  has  come  from 
Protestants.  Only  recently  the  Roman  Catholic  Church 
began  to  fight  alcoholism  through  Cardinal  Mercier;  M. 
E.  Vandervelde  is  now  carrying  on  this  work  for  the 
socialists. 

Social  Enterprises.  Social  activities  offer  a  wide  field 
for  Protestant  influence.  Lack  of  capital  has  been  the 
chief  difficulty.    We  note : 

1.  The  Cooperative  Bakery  of  the  Flemish  Church  at  Leaken, 
near  Brussels,  the  profits  of  which  are  allotted  to  evangelistic 
and  social  work.  2.  The  Protestant  Old  Age  Pension  and 
Mutual  Society,  organized  in  Brussels,  with  a  similar  society 
among  coal  miners  in  the  district  of  ]\Ions.  3.  A  Fraternity,  at 
Verviers,  organized  by  Rev.  Lebeau  for  the  moral  and  spiritual 
uplift  of  young  people.  4.  Young  Men's  and  Young  Women's 
Christian  Associations,  generally  connected  with  a  church  or 
mission  station.  In  large  cities,  like  Antwerp  and  Brussels, 
there  is  a  Central  Young  Men's  Christian  Association.  The 
Young  Women's  Christian  Associations  are  not  so  well  organ- 
ized, but  in  large  cities,  as  well  as  in  the  industrial  districts, 
there  is  a  very  urgent  need  of  Christian  work  among  girls. 
5.  Boys'  Brigades,  organized  by  the  Young  Men's  Christian  As- 
sociation, for  boys  under  sixteen. 

Sunday  Schools.  Each  church  or  mission  has  a  Sun- 
day School  and  very  often  a  Thursday  School,  with 
courses  of  religious  instruction  for  the  young  people. 
The  Belgian  Sunday  School  Association  has  been  repre- 
sented in  the  International  Sunday  School  Congresses. 
Before  1880  and  the  establishment  of  neutral  state 
schools,  each  mission  station  had  its  day  school,  of  which 
only  a  few  remain. 

Printing  Presses  and  Publications.  The  Belgian 
Missionary  Church  has  a  well  equipped  printing  shop  at 


FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM  91 

Nessonvaux,  near  Liege,  and  a  Protestant  bookstore  at 
Brussels.  The  Flemish  Home  Missionary  Committee 
of  the  Established  Church  has  a  fine  printing  shop  at 
Leaken,  Brussels.  A  Pastoral  Committee,  elected  at 
Charleroi  in  June,  1918,  is  preparing  pamphlets  and  book- 
lets to  spread  among  the  intellectual  classes  a  better 
knowledge  of  Protestantism.  As  a  result  of  the  war 
there  are  now  splendid  openings  among  the  intellectuals. 


II 


ITS  INFLUENCE  IN  THE  LIFE  OF  THE 
NATION 

Fully  to  appreciate  the  influence  of  French  Protes- 
tantism, it  is  necessary  to  take  into  account  the  relative 
proportion  of  Protestants  to  the  whole  population  of 
France,  one  in  about  sixty;  and  the  fact  that  this  par- 
ticular influence  has  been  chiefly  felt  within  the  last 
hundred  years. 

While  in  the  sixteenth  century,  in  the  reign  of  Henri 
IV,  the  Evangelical  Church  had  struck  deep  roots  in  the 
soil  of  the  country,  and  Reformed  congregations  could 
be  counted  by  the  hundred  and  even  the  thousand,  while 
in  more  than  four  hundred  towns  and  villages  the  mass 
had  entirely  ceased  to  be  celebrated  and  had  been  replaced 
by  Protestant  worship,  yet  by  the  Massacre  of  St. 
Bartholomew's  Day  (1572),  by  the  Revocation  of  the 
Edict  of  Nantes  (1685),  and  by  persecutions  preceding 
and  following,  the  Protestant  cause  was  brought  to  the 
verge  of  destruction.  When,  in  1787,  on  the  eve  of  the 
great  Revolution,  the  Edict  of  Toleration,  granted  by 
Louis  XVI,  gave  the  Huguenots  liberty  to  serve  God 
according  to  their  conscience,  their  church  was  roially 
disorganized  and  its  numbers  reduced  to  a  mere  handful. 
In  the  whole  of  France  there  could  be  found  only  forty- 

92 


FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM  93 

eight  pastors  and  one  hundred  and  fifty  parishes,  more 
than  half  of  which  were  vacant. 

Since  then,  a  wonderful  reconstruction  of  the  old 
Huguenot  Church  has  taken  place.  About  eight  hun- 
dred congregations  have  been  formed,  all  over  the  coun- 
try, and  Protestants,  by  reason  of  their  superior  edu- 
cation and  training,  have  wielded  an  influence  vastly 
greater  than  might  have  been  expected  from  their 
numbers. 

Politically,  their  influence  has  been  marked.  From  the 
beginning,  under  the  old  regime,  Protestants  were  accused 
of  being  democrats,  or  republicans;  and  it  cannot  be 
gainsaid  that  in  the  sixteenth  century,  Hotman  and 
Hubert  Languet  were  the  first  to  lay  down  the  theory  of 
democratic  government.  Another  Huguenot,  the 
preacher  and  professor,  Jurieu  (1637-1713),  a  refugee 
in  Holland,  expounded,  in  opposition  to  autocracy,  the 
right  of  the  people  to  govern  themselves.  The  influence 
of  Protestant  thought  on  the  framing  of  the  great  princi- 
ples of  the  French  Revolution  (1789)  is  undeniable,  and 
has  been  frequently  emphasized  by  historians  such  as 
Michelet  and  Quinet.  Logically,  the  descendants  of  the 
persecuted  Huguenots  of  the  sixteenth  and  seventeenth 
centuries  could  not  fail  to  be  defenders  of  liberty  and 
of  the  rights  of  man. 

As  a  consequence,  it  is  not  surprising  to  find  among 
Protestants  such  men  as  Necker,  under  Louis  XVI, 
Rabaut  St.  Etienne  and  Jean  Bon  St.  Andre  at  the  time 
of  the  Revolution,^  Benjamin  Constant  at  the  time  of 

^  The  writings  of  J.  J.  Rousseau,  of  Protestant  ancestry,  ver)' 
notably  prepared  the  way  for  democracy  and  for  the  Revolution 
of  1789. 


94         FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM 

the  Restoration  (1819-30),  Guizot.  for  many  years  Pre- 
mier under  Louis  Philippe  (1830-48),  and  Senator  Ed- 
mond  de  Pressense  during  the  reign  of  Napoleon  III 
(1852-70),  all  at  the  forefront  of  State  affairs  or  of  the 
battle  for  liberation  and  democratic  control. 

Under  the  Third  Republic  (1871),  their  influence  was 
bound  to  increase,  and  though  the  bulk  of  Protestant 
suffrage  is  not  large,  their  representatives  have  always 
been  numerous  both  in  the  Cabinets  of  their  time  and  in 
the  Senate  and  the  Chamber  of  Deputies.  In  the  Minis- 
try formed  by  Waddington  there  was,  it  is  said,  a 
majority  of  Protestants.  Among  the  men  best  known 
in  politics  we  may  mention,  besides  Senators  E.  de  Pres- 
sense and  Waddington  already  named,  Jules  Grosjean 
and  a  number  of  the  Deputies  from  Alsace  and  Lorraine, 
who  in  the  National  Assembly  at  Bordeaux,  March  1, 
1871,  read  the  Protest  against  the  violent  and  unjust 
annexation  of  these  provinces  to  Germany;  Leon  Say, 
the  great  financier;  de  Freycinet,  the  organizer  of  the 
National  Defense  against  the  Germans  (1871),  who  is 
still  living,  and  more  recently  Jules  Siegfried,  Sibille, 
Reveillaud,  Reville,  Doumergue,  Bourely,  etc. 

In  the  domain  of  law,  Protestants  hold  a  large  place. 
It  has  been  calculated,  for  instance,  that  among  3,000 
magistrates  there  are  nearly  200  Protestants,  and  in  the 
Court  of  Accounts,  in  the  Highest  Court  of  Appeals,  in 
the  State  Council,  Protestants  are  as  one  to  three. 

In  the  domain  of  education,  the  work  of  the  Protestants 
has  been  preponderant.  The  Dictionary  of  Pedagogy, 
the  manual  of  the  teaching  staff  in  France,  says:  *'The 
idea  of  the  popular  school,  that  is,  of  an  institution  in 
which  the  children  of  all  classes  of  society  should  receive 


FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM  95 

together  the  benefits  of  education,  could  only  spring  up 
in  the  soil  of  Protestantism." 

And  so  it  was.  The  great  leaders  of  the  French  Refor- 
mation had  given  the  utmost  care  to  providing  schools 
and  colleges  with  every  church.  The  first  law  on  public 
education  was  drawn  up  in  1833  by  Guizot,  a  Protestant, 
and  it  is  permeated  with  Protestant  principles.  Protes- 
tants also  were  Samuel  Vincent  and  Athanase  Coquerel, 
who  were  the  first  to  demand  a  national  system  of  public 
and  compulsory  education.  And  when,  under  the  leader- 
ship of  Jules  Ferry,  that  system  was  carried  out,  in  the 
teeth  of  a  tremendous  opposition  from  the  clerical  party 
(1880-86),  the  foremost  protagonists  in  the  enterprise 
were  again  Protestants :  Ferdinand  Buisson,  Felix  Pecaut 
and  Jules  Steeg,  a  pastor  who  later  became  Minister  of 
Public  Instruction.  These  were  prominent  in  the  execu- 
tion of  the  Ferry  Law  which  in  1882  removed  the  educa- 
tional system  from  priestly  control. 

It  was  not  from  any  undue  partiality,  but  because 
Protestant  methods  of  education  had  better  fitted  its 
adherents  for  the  important  duties  connected  with  the 
education  and  training  of  the  children  of  France,  that 
most  of  the  important  functionaries  of  the  Ministry  of 
Education  interested  v/ith  carrying  out  the  new  laws 
were  Protestants.  The  directors  of  higher,  secondary 
and  primary  education  were  all  Protestants.  The  In- 
spector general  of  boys'  schools  was  the  former  Prot- 
estant pastor,  Jules  Steeg.  The  Inspector  general  of  girls' 
schools  was  the  Protestant  Mile.  Kergomard.  The  prin- 
cipals of  many  of  the  normal  schools  were  Protestants, 
and  a  great  number  of  teachers  of  primary  as  well  as 
secondary  schools,  both  in  France  and  in  the  colonies. 


96         FRENXH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM 

were  Protestants  for  the  simple  reason  that  only  they 
could  pass  the  required  examinations,  the  Catholic  schools 
not  having  qualified  their  students  for  these  tests.  The 
disproportion  is  now  not  so  great,  though  to  some  extent 
it  still  exists. 

The  new  law  having  positively  forbidden  religious 
instruction  to  be  given  in  the  schools,  the  government 
took  steps  never  before  taken  by  any  government  to  pro- 
cure text  books  of  moral  instruction  adapted  to  children 
and  youth  of  every  age,  and  succeeded  to  a  degree  that 
amazes  those  who  carefully  look  through  the  books  put 
forth,  so  high  is  their  literary  merit,  so  lofty  their  prin- 
ciples and  so  practical  their  methods,  all  morality  being 
based  upon  the  existence  and  moral  character  of  God. 
The  three  men  already  named,  who  were  then  at  the 
head  of  the  educational  system,  well  understood  the  im- 
portance of  the  religious  factor  in  individual  and  social 
life,  as  a  basis  for  morals  and  a  motive  for  right  living. 

In  the  realms  of  science,  literature  and  art,  the  names 
of  Wurtz  from  Strassburg,  a  noted  chemist,  with  the 
physicist  Curie,  the  naturalists  Cuvier,  de  Quatrefages, 
Friedel,  the  historians  Guizot,  Sismondi,  Merle  d'Au- 
bigne,  Gabriel  Monod,  the  literary  critics  Vinet  and 
Edmond  Scherer,  the  theologians  Reuss  and  Augusta 
Sabatier,  the  preachers  Adolphe  Alonod  and  Bersier,  the 
artists  Bartholome  and  Bartholdi,  the  designer  of  the 
giant  Statue  of  Liberty  in  the  harbor  of  New  York ;  the 
authors  Madame  de  Stael  and  Benjamin  Constant  in  the 
earlier  part  of  the  last  century,  with  writers  such  as 
Charles  Gide,  professor  of  political  economy  in  the  Col- 
lege de  France;  Boutmy,  E.  Doumergue,  Bonet-Maury, 
the  two  Stapfers,  Weiss,  Andre  Michel,  one  of  the  fore- 


FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM  97 

most  art  critics  of  to-day,  Charles  Wagner,  writer  and 
preacher,  who  died  in  1918,  are  known  the  world  over 
for  their  remarkable  achievements;  while  such  men  as 
Admiral  Duquesne,  Admiral  Ver-Huell  and  Admiral 
Jaureguiberry,  General  de  Chabaud-Latour  and  Colonel 
Denfert-Rochereau,  the  heroic  defenders  of  Paris  and 
Belfort  during  the  sieges  of  1870-71,  have  earned  the 
esteem  even  of  their  adversaries/ 

The  influence  of  Protestants  was  marked  and  very 
admirable  at  the  time  when  the  separation  law  was 
under  consideration. '  Certain  of  its  provisions,  which 
the  government  deemed  essential  to  safeguard  republican 
institutions  and  principles  from  the  encroachments  of 
the  Catholic  Church — notoriously  hostile  to  the  measure 
and  openly  defying  it — bore  heavily  upon  the  Protestant 
churches  from  which  the  State  needed  no  protection. 
With  the  utmost  good  faith  Protestants  everywhere  rec- 
ognized and  submitted  to  this  necessity,  Protestant  depu- 
ties and  Senators  even  pointing  out  certain  points  v/here 
the  law  placed  unnecessary  restrictions  upon  Catholics. 

In  1802  no  Protestant  religious  literature  existed  in 
France — not  even  Bibles.  Since  1818  the  Bible  Societies 
have  distributed  nearly  15,000,000  Bibles  and  New  Testa- 
ments.   The  publications  of  the  Religious  Tract  Society 

^  An  important  contribution  of  French  Protestantism  to  his- 
torical science  has  been  made  by  Professor  Jean  Charlemagne 
Bracq  of  Vassar  College  in  his  work,  '"France  Under  the  Re- 
public." It  furnishes  a  complete  refutation  of  the  theory  of  races 
as  the  ultimate  determinants  of  religion,  and  shows  how  un- 
tenable is  the  assertion  that  Germanic  nations  are  naturally 
Protestant  and  Celtic  peoples  Catholic.  The  body  of  anthro- 
pology has  established  the  fact  that  those  districts  in  France 
where  Protestants  are  most  numerous  are  not  Germanic,  and 
that  the  most  important  Germanic  element  in  the  nation  is 
Catholic. 


98         FREXXH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM 

have  generally  maintained  a  high  literary  level.  The 
Protestant  Publication  Society  circulates  books  of  healthy 
moral  tone  which  meet  a  popular  want.  Never  has  a 
small  religious  body  made  a  greater  use  of  the  press. 
Four  Protestant  reviews  possess  real  value,  La  Revue 
Chrctienne,  La  Rcvuc  dc  Theologic,  La  Rcvuc  du  Chris- 
tianismc  Social  and  Foi  et  Vic.  The  Society  of  the  His- 
tory of  French  Protestantism  publishes  a  review  of 
unique  interest  in  its  special  field,  and  has  displayed  great 
energy  in  collecting  and  publishing  documents  of  his- 
toric worth.  Many  books  of  literary  power  have  been 
produced  by  Protestants — Edouard  Reuss'  monumental 
work  La  Bible,  the  Encyclopedic  dcs  Sciences  religieiises, 
to  which  the  best  of  Protestant  thinkers  have  contributed, 
the  historical  and  philosophical  works  of  de  Pressense, 
Auguste  Sabatier  and  other  theologians  and  literary  men. 
Arvede  Barine,  ]\Ime.  Coignet,  ]\Ime.  de  Pressense,  Mme. 
Bersier,  and  an  increasing  number  of  other  women 
writers  have  produced  works  as  broad  in  human  sym- 
pathy as  they  are  loyal  to  Protestant  ideals. 

But  it  is  perhaps  in  the  domain  of  economics,  of 
social  and  moral  reform,  that  the  Huguenots  of  France 
have  left  the  deepest  mark  on  the  life  of  their  people. 
V/hen  Napoleon  I,  after  the  turmoil  of  the  Revolution, 
reorganized  the  industrial  and  commercial  life  of  the 
nation,  he  found  his  best  coadjutors  among  the  Protes- 
tant manufacturers  and  bankers,  such  as  Oberkampf, 
Mallet,  Hottinguer,  Delessert,  Bartholdi ;  and  to  this 
day  the  Protestant  banking  establishments  are  second  to 
none  in  the  capital,  while  in  the  whole  country  Protestant 
engineers  and  manufacturers,  Peugeot,  Japy,  etc.,  are 
among  the  most  progressive  and  successful.     All  the 


FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM  99 

heads  of  Alsatian  industry,  Koechlin,  Dollfus,  Schlum- 
berger,  Hartmann,  Thierry-Mieg,  etc.,  are  Protestants. 

These  men  did  not  strive  simply  to  enrich  themselves 
or  to  bring  only  material  benefit  to  the  country;  they 
have  introduced  the  moral  factor  into  the  handling  of 
material  wealth,  so  that  one  can  say  that  they  have  been 
the  real  initiators  of  social  reforms  in  France.* 

A  Huguenot  was  the  first,  in  the  early  years  of  the 
last  century,  to  lift  up  his  voice  against  the  slave  trade. 
Baron  de  Stael.  A  Huguenot  was  the  founder  of  sav- 
ings banks,  Delessert.  Sons  of  Huguenots  are  the  apos- 
tles of  cooperation,  Gide  and  de  Boyve;  of  the  profit 
sharing  of  workmen  with  employers,  Charles  Robert ;  of 
Sunday  rest,  Charles  W.  Waddington.  Sons  of  Hugue- 
nots again  are  those  who  have  endeavored,  by  legisla- 
tion and  private  enterprise,  to  better  the  -condition  of 
women  and  children  in  the  factories,  of  the  homes  of 
the  poor  and  of  prisoners  in  jail:  Richard  Waddington, 
Jules  Siegfried,  Pastors  Arboux  and  Robin. 

It  was  a  Protestant  too,  himself  blind,  J.  Koechlin, 
who  in  lUsach  (Alsace)  founded  the  first  asylum  for 
the  blind;  it  was  a  noble  Protestant  woman,  Madame 
Jules  Mallet,  who  established  the  first  infant  schools; 
and  the  famous  homes  for  idiots,  epileptics,  etc.,  orga- 
nized by  Pastor  John  Bost  at  Laforce,  were  the  first 
of  the  kind  on  the  continent  of  Europe.     (See  page  88.) 

In  all  these  benevolent  institutions,  as  well  as  in  those 
for  the  care  of  apprentices,  orphans,  deaf  and  dumb, 
the  physically  and  morally  degenerate,  the  Huguenots 
have  shown  themselves  ardent  initiators  and  successful 
organizers,  and  to  them  is  due  the  world-wide  organiza- 
tion of  Friends  of  the  Young  Girl,  as  well  as  the  intro- 


100       FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM 

duction  into  France  of  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Asso- 
ciation, the  Young  Women's  Christian  Association,  homes 
for  working  men  and  girls,  fresh  air  funds,  the  Boy  Scout 
movement  and  other  social  efforts  imitated  later  by  the 
Roman  Catholics. 

The  fight  against  the  social  evil  and  immoral  literature, 
against  the  drink  traffic,  and  in  favor  of  temperance 
reform,  and  for  the  observance  of  the  Lord's  Day,  has 
been  so  much  in  the  hands  of  the  Huguenot  churches  that 
these  reforms  are  generally  considered  as  a  special  sphere 
of  Protestant  effort,  and  dependent  upon  their  energy 
for  success. 

The  Blue  Cross  (Temperance)  Society  with  its  Band 
of  Hope  (Espoir)  covering  nearly  the  whole  country,  is 
in  fact  a  work  of  threefold  influence,  patriotic  and 
religious  as  well  as  moral.  In  regions  such  as  parts  of 
Normandy,  where  liquor  used  to  be  given  to  infants  as 
a  substitute  for  milk,  and  children  came  weak  and  listless 
to  school,  having  had  nothing  but  liquor  for  breakfast; 
in  towns  such  as  Aniche  near  Lille,  a  place  of  8,500  in- 
habitants, chiefly  miners  and  glass  blowers,  which  before 
the  Blue  Cross  began  its  work  had  42  breweries  and  446 
places  where  liquor  could  be  bought,  patriotism  cried  as 
importunately  as  religion  for  a  w^ork  of  temperance. 
Few  are  the  Protestant  churches  which  have  not  their 
sections  of  the  Blue  Cross.  An  unprecedented  tribute  to 
the  value,  of  the  movement  was  given  in  1913  when  the 
Bourse  de  Travail  (Labor  Exchange)  of  Nimes  gave  to 
the  Blue  Cross  Society  of  that  city  the  free  use  of  its 
large  public  hall,  with  authority  to  carry  on  its  meetings 
according  to  its  custom,  with  prayers  and  the  singing  of 
hymns. 


FRENXH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM        101 

The  Young  Men's  Christian  Association,  founded  in 
London  in  1844,  was  introduced  into  France  in  1851.  It 
rapidly  took  hold  of  the  churches ;  in  1859  when  the  work 
became  national  there  were  79  Associations,  in  1892  there 
were  95. 

The  Young  Women's  Christian  Association  was  of 
much  later  date,  young  girls  being  allowed  less  initiative 
in  the  last  than  in  the  present  century.  The  National 
Committee  was  formed  in  1884.  Both  of  these  societies 
are  much  more  closely  connected  with  the  churches  than 
in  other  countries.  Very  many  churches  have  their  own 
Association  distinct  from  yet  forming  a  part  of  the  gen- 
eral body. 

The  International  Union  of  Friends  of  the  Young  Girl 
grew  out  of  a  method  for  the  protection  of  young  girls 
begun  by  a  Protestant  woman  in  1878.  She  worked 
alone  for  twenty-three  years,  when  the  plan  was  taken 
up  by  Mrs.  Josephine  Butler  and  developed  into  an  inter- 
national movement. 

Protestant  women  had  begun  before  the  war  to  asso- 
ciate themselves  in  patriotic  causes  with  those  not  of 
their  belief.  They  have  a  most  prominent  part  in  the 
Societe  de  Secours  aux  blesses  militaires,  the  Union  des 
Femmes  de  France  and  the  Association  des  dames 
frangaises,  which  three  organizations  constitute  the 
French  Red  Cross  (La  Croix  Rouge  francaise).  The 
President  of  the  National  Council  of  French  Women, 
open  to  women  of  all  beliefs,  is  a  Protestant,  Mme.  Jules 
Siegfried.  The  work  of  this  society  since  the  outbreak 
of  the  present  war  is  beyond  all  praise.  As  Prot- 
estants, with  Mme.  Siegfried,  may  be  mentioned  Mme. 
d'Abbadie    d'Arrast,    Vice    President    of    the    National 


102       FREN'CH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM 

Council  of  French  Women,  Mile.  Lucile  Morin,  Presi- 
dent of  the  National  Committee  of  the  International 
Young  Women's  Christian  Association.  These  three 
women  are  honorary  presidents  of  the  Christian  Syndi- 
cates of  Working  Women,  founded  about  1912,  whose 
president  is  Mile.  Marie  Bruneton,  president  of  the  Paris 
Y.  W.  C.  A.  and  one  of  whose  vice-presidents  is  Mile. 
Savary,  one  of  the  most  efficient  women  workers  in  the 
McAll  Mission.  Sixteen  women  bearing  names  honored 
among  French  Protestants  form  the  Board  of  Managers 
of  an  organization  which  has  many  features  of  our  Con- 
sumers* League,  with  others  of  larger  economic  import, 
and  all  regulated  by  avowedly  religious  principles. 

The  Boy  Scout  movement  was  introduced  into  France 
by  Pastor  Georges  Gallienne  of  the  McAll  Mission  (since 
the  war  a  chaplain  in  the  navy),  as  a  means  of  training 
the  till  then  untamable  Apaches,  who  frequented  his 
out-station  in  the  Javel  quarter.  His  plan  worked  like  a 
charm  upon  the  Apaches  of  Javel :  the  idea  was  taken 
up  throughout  the  McAll  work,  the  religious  character 
being  always  maintained,  was  adopted  by  the  Young 
I^Ien's  Christian  Association,  nearly  all  its  Juniors  being 
organized  as  Eclair enrs  (Scouts),  and  was  introduced 
into  the  public  schools.  The  government,  quick  to  recog- 
nize its  importance,  set  the  seal  of  approval  upon  the 
movement  by  appointing  a  retired  army  officer,  General 
Amboix  de  Larbont,  to  be  Chief  Scout  Master,  and  by 
inviting  the  Scouts  to  a  festival  in  the  Park  of  the 
Invalides,  the  State  Hotel  for  old  soldiers.  The  change 
wrought  in  the  character  and  conduct  of  the  boys  of 
French  city  streets  has  been  remarkable,  and  the  services 
rendered   by   the   little    fellows   during   the    war   speak 


FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM        103 

volumes  both  for  them  and  for  the  value  of  the  move- 
ment. 

General  de  Berckheim,  who  is  Director  of  the  Boy 
Scout  Movement  of  the  government,  is  also  a  well-known 
Protestant  layman.  During  his  visit  to  France  in  1918, 
the  Rev.  Charles  S.  Macfarland  served  as  a  Commis- 
sioner of  the  Boy  Scouts  of  America,  and  was  the  means 
of  getting  under  way  important  plans  for  deepening  the 
relationship  between  these  movements  in  the  two  coun- 
tries. He  presented  these  plans  in  his  report  to  the 
National  Council  of  the  Boy  Scouts  of  America,  of  which 
he  is  a  National  Scout  Commissioner. 

The  "Commission  for  Protestant  Evangelical  Activity 
in  the  Social  and  ]\Ioral  Field"  was  reappointed  in  1909 
by  the  Federation  of  French  Protestantism,  and  at  once 
entered  upon  a  large  work,  its  executive  officers  being 
Professor  Maury,  president,  and  Colonel  dAdhemar, 
vice-president,  Pastor  Freddy  Durrleman,  treasurer, 
Pastor  Leon  Peyric,  field  secretary,  and  Professor  de 
Boeck,  secretary, — all  noted  names  in  present  day 
French  Protestantism. 

The  great  Protestant  Congresses  held  by  the  French 
Protestant  Federation  for  the  discussion  of  religious, 
moral  and  social  questions  receive  great  attention  from 
the  political  press  and  continually  present  Protestantism 
to  the  public  mind  as  a  great  and  unified  power  for  the 
good  of  the  nation.  As  Pastor  Decoppet  of  the  great 
Church  of  the  Oratoire  said,  "Yes,  we  are  brothers,  the 
Protestant  family  exists."  This  spiritual  union  has  al- 
ways so  impressed  the  general  public  that  the  divisions 
of  Protestantism  are  hardly  noticed  by  it. 


104       FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM 

Social  Christianity 

The  enforced  limitations  and  the  persecutions  of 
French  Protestants  tended  naturally  to  make  the  Re- 
formed Church  a  somewhat  narrow  and  self-centered 
body.  But  with  the  first  promise  of  religious  freedom, 
after  1878,  a  wonderful  broadening  of  interest  was 
shown  by  the  creation  of  societies  such  as  that  for  the 
Practical  Study  of  Social  Questions  and  others  for 
analagous  purposes.  Since  the  Separation  this  impulse 
has  taken  on  new  strength  and  has  tended  even  to  an 
internationalization  of  social  interest.  The  Congress  of 
Social  Christianity  held  in  Besanqon  in  1908,  and  espe- 
cially that  held  in  St.  Quentin  in  1911,  at  which  the 
world  famed  economist  Charles  Gide  was  the  presiding 
officer,  showed  how  broad  is  the  conception  of  Christian 
duty  held  by  these  French  Protestants,  including  as  it 
does  nothing  less  than  the  Christianization  of  all  social 
relations.  These  meetings  and  the  work  carried  on  dur- 
ing the  intervening  years,  especially  that  of  the  Fraterni- 
ties, which  brought  the  Protestant  young  men  of  France 
into  close  relations  with  the  English  Brotherhoods,  were 
unwittingly  preparing  France  for  the  ordeal  which  she 
has  so  nobly  undergone  during  the  past  four  years. 
Naturally  these  enterprises  have  been  initiated  and  car- 
ried on  chiefly  by  the  younger  pastors  and  laymen,  but 
such  utterances  as  the  following  by  two  of  the  most 
venerable  and  revered  pastors  of  French  Protestantism, 
show  the  universal  approbation.  Pastor  Benjamin  Couve 
writes : 


FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM        105 

Within  thirty  years  our  Protestantism  has  flowered  out  in 
works  which  have  already  borne  fruit  and  promise  more. 
Doubtless  our  churches  did  not  wait  for  the  twentieth  century 
to  do  social  works  .  .  .  but  the  fraternities,  the  solidarities 
and  like  works,  attest  a  renewal  of  social  interest  and  bear  a 
mark  that  is  entirely  modern." 

To  the  question,  "If  fraternities  are  founded  every- 
where, what  will  become  of  the  churches  ? "  Pastor 
Bab«t  replied : 

No  doubt  they  will  become  more  living,  stronger,  more 
prosperous,  for  their  real  enemy  is  spiritual  slumber,  and  the 
multiplication  of  fraternities  is  already  the  beginning  of  a 
revival.  .  .  .  You  ask,  'Should  the  movement  be  suspected,  as 
tair^ed  with  socialism  ?'  To  be  sure  it  is  a  social  Christian 
movement,  but  that  is  to  a  great  degree  the  secret  of  its  strength, 
its  principal  attraction  among  the  people  of  the  large  cities. 
...  It  is  above  all  things  the  proclamation  of  moral  and  social 
principles  on  which  nearly  all  Christians  now  agree.  .  .  .  The 
very  collaboration  which  we  pastors  need  today,  and  without 
whic43  we  feel  our  ministry  powerless,  will  be  brought  to  us  by 
the   fraternities. 

Pastor  Babut  touches  upon  a  doubt  which  has  troubled 
more  than  one  mind,  a  doubt  raised  by  the  name  adopted 
by  the  leaders  of  the  movement:  "Social  Christianity." 
This  name,  however,  by  laying  the  emphasis  on  "Chris- 
tianity," fundamentally  distinguishes  its  adherents  from 
the  Christian  Socialists  of  Belgium  and  England,  and 
still  more  widely  from  political  Socialists.  "Between  us 
and  them  is  God,"  said  in  1901  Pastor  Elie  Gounelle, 
founder  with  Pastor  Wilfred  Monod  of  the  movement  in 
1898,  Borrowing  from  England  the  idea  of  the  "Pleas- 
ant Sunday  Afternoon"  Brotherhoods,  they  enlarged  it  to 
include  all  human  relations  in  the  domain  of  Christian 
fraternity.  Their  "solidarities"  and  brotherhoods  are 
differentiated  from  the  social  settlements  of  England  and 


106        FRENXH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM 

America  in  three  important  particulars :  their  members 
do  not  live  in  common,  or  in  the  Foyers,  Frateruitcs,  oi 
Solidarites,^  by  which  names  the  neighborhood  houses  are 
variously  known ;  they  include  every  variety  of  ''social, 
moral  and  religious  activity,"  and  in  particular  each  such 
settlement  is  distinctly  attached  to  a  church  or  mission 
station,  an  innovation  which  in  more  recent  years  is  be- 
ing adopted  by  many  a  church  in  England  and  America. 

The  Thursday  School,  which  was  devised  by  Dr. 
Robert  W.  McAU  partly  to  introduce  a  social  element 
into  the  Hves  of  children  of  the  street,  but  chiefly  as  an 
additional  means  of  giving  religious  instruction,  was 
adopted  by  Protestant  and  later  by  Roman  Catholic 
Churches,  especially  since  the  secularization  of  the  public 
schools  (Thursday  being  the  school  holiday  in  France). 

While  Oberlin  was  the  precursor,  the  immediate  inspi- 
ration of  the  Social  Christian  movement  in  the  last  years 
of  the  nineteenth  century  was  the  ever  revered  and  la- 
mented Pastor  Tomy  Fallot,  President  of  the  "Aboli- 
tion Federation,"  of  the  "French  League  for  the  Elevation 
of  Public  Morality,"  founder  of  the  "Fraternal  Society," 
and  first  president  of  the  "Protestant  Association  for  the 
Practical  Study  of  Social  Questions,"  who  died  in  1904, 
but  who  being  dead  yet  speaketh. 

One  of  the  most  important  manifestations  of  Social 
Christianity  is  the  Foi  et  Vie  (Faith  and  Life)  move- 
ment, founded  in  1898  by  M.  Paul  Doumergue  and  a 

*  The  first  solidarity  was  founded  in  connection  with  the 
McAll  ^lission  station  in  Roubaix  where  INI.  Gounelle  was  at 
that  time  both  pastor  of  the  church  and  director  of  the  McAll 
Mission  station.  Pastor  Wilfred  Monod  soon  after  followed  the 
example  in  Rouen,  and  Pastor  Henri  Nick  in  Lille.  By  degrees 
they  sprang  up  in  many  parts  of  France,  from  the  North  to  Alais 
and  St.  Jean  du  Card  in  the  old  Cevennes  region. 


FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM       107 

large  group  of  influential  Protestants  and  addressed,  not 
to  the  working  classes  or  to  the  poor  but  to  the  intellectual 
people  of  France.  Its  chief  activity  is  the  founding  of 
lecture  courses  and  study  classes  on  social  questions  con- 
sidered from  the  Christian  point  of  view ;  in  which  work 
it  has  the  cooperation  of  the  most  eminent  public 
speakers  of  France,  Academicians  and  government  of- 
ficials of  kindred  minds  sharing  its  platform  with  the 
more  prominent  professors  and  pastors  of  the  nation. 
Its  periodical,  the  fortnightly  review,  Foi  ef  Vie,  brings 
important  discussions  of  social  and  philosophical  ques- 
tions to  the  attention  of  the  general  reading  public.^ 

The  Academician  Emile  Faguet,  who  has  died  since 
the  outbreak  of  the  war,  not  a  Protestant  but  an  impartial 
critic,  said,  "French  Protestants  .  .  .  have  been  the  salt 
of  France  .  .  .  Protestantism  has  deserved  well  of 
France  .  .  .  Add  to  this  that  the  Protestants  were  the 
first  French  Republicans." 

"What  great  ancestors  were  those  Huguenots !"  wrote 
the  Academician  M.  Lavisse  to  Prof.  John  Vienot  after 
his  book  Les  Defenseurs  dc  la  Sonverainetc  du  Peuple 
appeared. 

That  large  proportion  of  the  French  population  (gen- 

*  "We  have  tried,"  writes  M.  Paul  Doumergue,  *'to  create  a 
center  of  Christian  culture  in  France;  not  a  denominational 
center,  which  would  make  our  field  very  narrow,  but  a  center  of 
Christian  spirit.  For  this  purpose  we  have  founded:  1.  a  Review 
called  Foi  et  Vie,  2.  A  publishing  house  known  as  The  General 
Protestant  Publishing  House  (La  Libraire  Generale  et  Protes- 
tante),  3.  Le  Journal  du  Soldat  (The  Soldier's  Journal),  4.  Lec- 
tures by  Professors  of  the  Sorbonne."  These  lectures  chiefly 
deal  ^  with  questions  of  democracy  as  related  to  history  and 
religion.  Since  the  early  months  of  the  war  the  publishing  house 
has  issued  a  weekly  series  of  well  printed  tracts  entitled  "Gospel 
Meditations." 


108       FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM 

erally  estimated  as  eighty  per  cent)  who  before  the  pres- 
ent war  never  set  foot  in  any  church,  were  far  from  in- 
different to  rehgious  problems.  As  Professor  J.  C.  Bracq 
writes,  "any  able  religious  speaker  will  find  hearers  out- 
side of  the  churches  more  easily  than  in  America."  In 
the  early  part  of  1907  the  Mcrcure  de  France  organized 
a  vast  inquiry,  asking  eminent  men,  "Are  we  witnessing 
a  dissolution  or  an  evolution  of  religious  thought?"  to 
which  the  overwhelming  majority  replied,  "a  religious 
evolution" — an  answer  which  the  present  war  has  strik- 
ingly confirmed. 

Religiously,  socially  and  economically,  then,  France 
owes  far  more  to  the  Protestants,  especially  since  tlie 
establishment  of  the  Third  Republic,  than  their  small 
numbers  would  promise.  But  as  Matthew  Arnold  re- 
minded us,  it  is  always  by  minorities  that  nations  are 
saved.  A  small  group  of  Protestants  in  the  midsj:  of  a 
free-thinking  or  a  Catholic  population  tends  to  destroy 
bigotry  and  prejudice,  to  create  a  desire  for  the  truth, 
and  even  to  bring  to  Christ  some  who  perhaps  will  never 
unite  with  any  church,  yet  will  spread  the  leavening 
influence. 


Ill 

ITS  INFLUENCE  ABROAD 

More  than  any  ocher  nation  in  the  world,  France 
through  her  entire  history  has  known  how  to  look  beyond 
her  frontiers  and  sympathize  with  all  great  liberating 
movements.  Her  cooperation  in  the  war  of  the  Ameri- 
can Revolution,  in  the  liberation  of  the  Greeks  from 
the  Turkish  yoke,  in  the  establishment  of  Italian  Unity, 
are  typical  examples.  This  perception  of  mankind,  this 
genius  of  the  universal,  highly  conspicuous  in  France, 
has  found  its  loftiest  expression  in  missionary  ac- 
tivity. In  the  great  movement  of  Roman  Catholic  mis- 
sions, France,  among  all  the  nations  which  maintained 
their  connection  with  the  Holy  See,  always  held  the  first 
rank.  Even  today,  when  France  is  believed  to  be  largely 
a  free-thinking  country,  the  proportion  of  Catholic  mis- 
sionaries and  the  support  given  by  French  Catholics  to 
the  cause  of  missions  is  incomparably  larger  than  in  any 
avowedly  Roman  Catholic  nation. 

Impartial  travelers  easily  discover  that  in  Africa,  in 
Asia,  in  Oceania,  in  the  Levant  as  well  as  in  the  Far- 
East,  France  represents  Roman  Catholic  Christianity  in 
a  far  more  effective  manner  than  Spain,  Italy  or  Austria. 
So  far  as  Protestant  Christianity  is  concerned,  we  recog- 
nize the  same  condition.  The  small  Protestant  group  in 
France,  numbering  less  than  a  million  souls,  heirs  of  a 
long  past  of  suffering  and  persecution,  is  carrying  on  a 

109 


no       FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM 

missionary  work  altogether  disproportionate  to  its  small 
numbers. 

French  Protestant  missionary  work  is  specifically  un- 
denominational. The  Reformed,  Lutheran,  Free  and 
Methodist  Churches  in  France  co-operate  in  the  work  of 
the  Paris  Evangelical  [Foreign]  Missionary  Society.  Af 
the  same  time  this  work  is  international,  sons  of  the 
French  Reformation  in  Switzerland,  Belgium  and  Italy 
(the  Waldensian  Valleys  of  Piedmont),  taking  their  part 
in  the  work  of  the  "Paris  Society  of  Missions." 

In  its  undenominational  and  international  character 
French  Protestantism  has  long  put  into  practice  the  prin- 
ciple of  church  federation  stressed  by  the  Ecumenical 
Missionary  Conference  of  Edinburgh. 

The  expenses  of  the  Paris  Evangelical  Missionary 
Society  amount  to  nearly  one  million  francs  ($200,000). 
This  society  supports  181  missionaries  in  seven  mission- 
ary fields, — Basutoland,  Rhodesia,  Madagascar,  French 
Congo,  Senegal,  Tahiti,  New  Caledonia.  The  following 
schedule  shows  the  progress  and  development  of  French 
Protestant  missionary  zeal  during  the  last  century. 

1852  1872  1892  1912 

Mission  fields   1  3  6  7 

Stations  11  14  25  63 

Out   stations    59  141  432 

European   missionaries    (not   in- 
cluding wives)    18  21  43  119 

Native  pastors    21  32  185 

•*      evangelists ..  57  114  302 

"      teachers     49  176  567 

Schools    10  45  159  387 

Pupils 495  3,113  9,281  29,876 

Communicants  1,459  5,034  10,257  36,889 

Expenses    $20,000  35,000  100,000  190,000 

During  the  recent  conflict,  French  Protestantism  gave 

proof  of  its  genuine  missionary  spirit  by  assuming  the 


FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM       111 

burden  of  entering  the  Cameroon,  taken  from  Germany 
by  the  Allied  Forces,  in  order  to  save  the  remnants  of 
the  German  missions,  left  to  themselves  after  the  expul- 
sion of  the  missionaries.  Four  French  missionaries  are 
to-day  supervising  that  work  of  rescue,  while  two  others, 
by  teaching  French,  now  compulsory  in  every  school,  are 
helping  the  American  Presbyterian  Mission  in  South 
Cameroon. 

The  Beginnings 

The  spirit  of  propaganda  is  in  the  very  fibre  of  the 
French  being.  Whenever  a  truth  of  science,  of  politics, 
of  economics,  of  religion,  has  lodged  in  the  minds  of 
Frenchmen,  like  the  disciples  who  were  scattered  abroad 
after  the  stoning  of  Stephen,  wherever  they  go,  they  go 
preaching.  Thus  it  was  in  the  second  decade  of  the  six- 
teenth century  and  the  subsequent  early  years  of  the 
Reformation ;  thus  in  the  second  decade  of  the  nineteenth 
century,  in  the  dark  days  of  the  restoration  of  the 
Monarchy;  "colporteur  of  ideas"  France  has  ever  been. 

The  Revival  in  the  early  years  of  the  nineteenth  cen- 
tury awakened  interest  in  the  salvation  of  those  who 
knew  not  Christ.  By  1820  small  groups  of  Protestants 
were  formed  in  Toulouse  and  other  French  cities,  to  pray 
for  missions  and  report  what  they  had  learned  about 
them,  and  to  collect  money,  which  they  sent  to  the  Lon- 
don or  the  Basle  Society.  Thus  by  1822  the  time  was 
ripe  for  founding  a  missionary  society  of  their  own,  and 
the  Paris  Evangelical  Missionary  Society  came  into  be- 
ing, all  Protestant  churches  in  France  and  French-speak- 
ing Switzerland  joining  in  the  Crusade.  Later,  as  has 
been  seen,  the  French  speaking  churches  of  the  Walden- 


112       FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM 

sian  "Valleys,  as  well  as  many  individuals  in  other  coun- 
tries, especially  in  Holland,  Belgium,  Great  Britain, 
the  United  States  and  Canada,  by  contributions  gave 
proof  of  their  admiration  of  the  courage  and  faith 
of  the  descendants  of  the  Huguenots,  who,  poor  in  this 
world's  goods  and  often  hampered  by  the  laws,  had 
bravely  taken  up  their  share  of  the  task  of  evangelizing 
the  world. 

A  House  of  Missions  was  soon  founded  for  the  educa- 
tion of  missionaries.  Societies  in  other  lands  at  once 
recognized  the  advantages  offered  in  Paris  for  the  neces- 
sary study,  and  students  were  sent  from  all  Protestant 
countries.  Several  foreigners  who  became  famous  in 
missionary  annals  went  forth  from  this  school:  among 
them  Samuel  Gobat,  who  went  to  Abyssinia  and  later 
became  the  first  Protestant  Bishop  of  Jerusalem,  where  a 
flourishing  boys'  school  bears  his  name.  The  American, 
Jonas  King,  who  had  been  a  missionary  in  Palestine, 
taught  Arabic  in  the  Paris  House  of  Missions  and  greatly 
moved  American  interest. 

Such  prominent  men  as  Pastors  Marron,  Jean  Monod 
and  Boissard  promoted  the  enterprise,  with  such  writers 
and  philanthropists  as  Auguste  de  Stael  (son  of  the  cele- 
brated writer,  Madame  de  Stael),  Stapfer,  Frederic 
Monod,  Mark  Wilks,  Delessert,  Admiral  Ver-Huell, 
the  historian  Delaborde,  Bartholdi  and  Waddington; 
several  of  these  being  strongly  allied  by  friendship  with 
foreign  countries. 

In  1825  a  new  era  began.  The  society  had  been  gen- 
erously welcomed  by  Christians  of  other  lands,  and  that 
year  the  income  of  the  previous  year  was  doubled.  Of 
the  eight  French  pupils  in  the  school  in  1825,  only  three 


FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM        113 

became  foreign  missionaries,  but  all  became  religious 
leaders.  One  of  them,  Elie  Charlier,  came  to  New  York, 
founded  a  boys'  school  which  was  among  the  foremost 
of  its  time,  and  during  his  long  life  exerted  a  powerful 
influence  for  good. 

In  1826  the  Journal  of  Missions  was  founded  and  to 
this  day  it  continues  to  create  and  foster  missionary  zeal. 
Interest  in  foreign  missions  grew  rapidly  in  France. 
Many  churches  held  monthly  meetings  for  prayer  for 
missions;  societies  of  women  were  praying, — and  this  at 
a  time  when  it  was  illegal  for  more  than  twenty  persons 
to  meet  for  any  purpose  without  a  special  permit — sub- 
scription lists  were  opened,  ardent  young  girls  sold  their 
jewelry  for  the  cause,  poor  women  subscribed  a  Hard 
(one-fifth  of  a  cent)  per  month,  others  a  sou  a  day  (the 
Sou  Missionnaire,  still  an  important  source  of  income  for 
the  society). 

The  Admiral  Count  Ver-Huell  having  accepted  the 
presidency  of  the  society  (which  he  held  for  24  years) 
it  was  decided  in  1829  to  send  three  missionaries  to  South 
Africa,  the  government  not  permitting  them  to  enter 
French  Algeria.  They  went  directly  to  the  French 
Huguenot  refugees  who  had  settled  at  the  Cape  and  to 
whom  Africa  owes  much.  Finding  no  other  opening, 
they  began  to  work  among  the  Hottentot  slaves  of  these 
Huguenots,  there  being  already  a  small  church  of  con- 
verted slaves. 

The  Seven  Mission  Fields 

I.  Basutoland  (Lessuto).     In  1833  three  missionary 

pioneers,  Arbousset,  Casalis  and  the  artisan  Gossellin, 
settled  in  Basutoland,  after  a  fearful  journey  of  300 


114       FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM 

miles  through  a  roadless  region  infested  by  lions,  and 
inhabited  by  timorous  and  suspicious  black  men.  Here 
they  were  welcomed  as  benefactors  by  the  King  of  the 
Basutos,  that  remarkable  African,  Moshesh,  whose  mot- 
toes, in  the  midst  of  bloodthirsty  Africa,  even  before  the 
Gospel  had  reached  him,  were  "Peace  is  my  sister," 
"Plenty  is  found  in  Peace."  The  Basuto  love  to  learn; 
schools  were  opened  in  many  places,  the  need  of  books 
in  Sessuto  soon  created  a  demand  for  a  printer  and  press, 
and  these  were  sent  from  Paris.  Soon  the  Gospels  of 
St.  Mark  and  St.  John,  already  translated  by  the  mis- 
sionaries, were  printed  in  Sessuto. 

Pastors  and  evangelists  have  been  raised  up  from 
the  native  population  and  are  supported  by  the  native 
churches.  A  well  organized  system  of  primary  and  sec- 
ondary schools  has  been  set  up  all  through  the  country, 
16,878  pupils  being  taught  in  240  schools.  The  Allowing 
are  the  educational  institutions : 

1912 

Normal  School  (teachers)  160  pupils 

Theological  Seminary   (native  pastors)    7  students 

Bible  School   (evangelists)    47        " 

Industrial   School    74  pupils 

Girls'  High  School  70       " 

Statistics 

Stations  

Out  stations    

European     missionaries      (not 

including  wives)    

Native  pastors    

Native  evangelists  and  teachers 

Church  members    1,459 

Pupils     

Native  contributions  Fr. 

$ 


1852 

1872 

1892 

1912 

11 

10 

15 

29 

38 

128 

223 

18 

16 

23 

31 

3 

17 

57 

241 

553 

459 

2,183 

7.900 

19,071 

495 

2,069 

7,869 

16.878 

6,100 

34,700 

115.100 

1,220 

6,940 

23,020 

FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM        115 

Whereas  many  African  tribes  have  been  degraded  and 
impoverished  by  the  combined  influences  of  their  own 
heathenism  and  western  civilization,  the  Basuto  tribe, 
which  originally  numbered  some  40,000  souls  only,  has 
become  under  the  influence  of  the  Gospel  a  great  nation 
of  400,000.  Soldiers  from  this  mission  did  loyal  service 
during  the  war. 

2.  Senegal.  On  the  west  coast  of  Africa,  on  the 
threshold  of  the  Soudan,  a  small  mission  was  established 
in  1853,  which  during  more  than  fifty  years  has  stood 
"like  a  patient  sentinel  on  the  watch."  The  Paris  Mis- 
sionary Society  longs  to  extend  the  work  in  Senegal  to 
the  Mohammedans  of  the  French  Soudan,  a  region  five 
times  as  large  as  France,  which  only  French  missionaries 
may  enter.  The  Director  of  the  Paris  Society,  M.  Bian- 
quis,  visited  Senegal  in  the  winter  of  1913-14  and  on  his 
return  spoke  eloquently  of  the  greatness  and  beauty  of 
the  task  in  that  country,  in  the  hope  that  the  Society 
might  soon  penetrate  into  the  interior  and  reach  some  of 
the  numerous  peoples  of  the  Niger,  as  yet  little  influenced 
by  Islam. 

3.  Tahiti.  In  that  same  year,  1853,  the  Paris  So- 
ciety, in  answer  to  an  appeal  from  the  London  Missionary 
Society,  which  since  1820  had  been  working  on  the  island, 
but  had  been  obliged  by  the  French  Protectorate  to  aban- 
don its  work,  sent  a  missionary  to  Tahiti.  The  Roman 
Catholic  Church,  taking  advantage  of  the  French  annexa- 
tion, was  threatening  the  work  begun  by  John  WilHams 
and  developed  by  his  successors.  In  spite  of  its  limited 
means,  the  Paris  Society  has  been  enabled  to  help  save 
the  Protestant  Church  in  Tahiti  and  in  several  other 
islands  of  the  South  Seas. 


116       FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM 

The  first  French  missionary  to  arrive,  M.  Arbousset, 
in  1865,  was  heartily  welcomed  by  Queen  Pomare  IV. 
He  established  good  relations  with  the  native  evangelists, 
and  having  been  joined  in  1867  by  five  French  mission- 
aries, in  1880  he  organized  the  Church  on  the  synodical 
system  of  the  Reformed  Church  of  France,  the  step 
being  approved  by  the  government.  The  work  was 
extended  to  the  Austral  and  the  Windward  Islands,  and 
later  to  the  far  distant  Gambier  Islands. 

In  these  islands,  under  the  guidance  of  10  French 
missionaries,  assisted  by  45  native  pastors,  a  Church  of 
4,500  communicants  exists  whose  annual  contributions 
amounted  in  1912  to  nearly  60,000  fr.  ($12,000).- 

1872 
Stations     3 

Out  stations  and  native  churches... 
European  missionaries  (not  including 

wives)     3 

Native  pastors   20 

Native  teachers   

Church    members    2,450 

Pupils   1,044 

Native  contributions    Fr. 

4.  Zambezi.  Meanwhile,  the  Basuto  Church  having 
greatly  developed,  the  native  communities  desired  to  start 
a  mission  work  of  their  own.  Francois  Coillard,  whose 
name  is  known  in  all  missionary  circles  and  who  had 
long  labored  in  Lessuto,  went  north  accompanied  by 
several  native  evangelists,  looking  for  a  mission  field. 
After  an  heroic  expedition  to  the  Upper  Zambezi,  the 
difficulties  of  which  have  filled  a  volume  of  intense  in- 
terest, he  persuaded  the  Paris  Society  in  1885  to  en- 
courage the  ambition  of  the  Basuto  Church  and  to  send 


1892 

1912 

3 

4 

12 

12 

4 

11 

19 

45 

9 

2,037 

4,333 

1,132 

3.202 

18,150 

59,000 

FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM        117 

both  French  missionaries  and  native  evangelists  to  the 
country  of  King  Lewanika. 

After  twenty-seven  years  of  faithful  pioneering,  the 
Zambezi  Mission  is  firmly  established.  Converts,  in  the 
strict  sense  of  the  word,  are  as  yet  but  few ;  nevertheless, 
a  wonderful  transformation  has  taken  place,  as  was  evi- 
denced by  the  changed  life  of  King  Lewanika.  Though 
not  a  Christian  himself,  under  the  influence  of  the  mis- 
sionaries he  banished  the  sale  of  alcohol,  abolished  slav- 
ery and  human  sacrifices,  and  largely  encouraged  Chris- 
tian worship  and  missionary  schools.  His  visit  to  France 
and  Great  Britain  in  1913  created  a  sensation,  and  his 
death  in  1917  awakened  regret.  His  son  and  successor, 
Litia,  though  by  no  means  so  strong  a  character  as  his 
father,  is  an  avowed  Christian. 

The  life  story  of  Frangois  Coillard  is  one  of  the  most  inspir- 
ing in  the  annals  of  missions.  Told  in  French  in  three  octavo 
volumes,  it  is  accessible  to  far  too  few  readers  in  foreign 
lands. 

Born  in  1834  in  Berry,  in  the  center  of  France,  Frangois 
Coillard's  early  Hfe  is  a  part  of  the  history  of  nineteenth  cen- 
tury French  Protestantism,  His  widowed  mother,  a  Revival 
Christian,  endured  many  privations  to  keep  him  in  school.  The 
boy  was  much  influenced  by  colporteurs,  always  welcome  in  his 
humble  home,  and  happily,  while  still  young  he  came  under  the 
pastoral  care  of  Ami  Bost,  a  man  of  lofty  intellect  and  large 
piety,  father  of  sons  and  daughters  who  became  celebrated  in 
French  Protestant  philanthropy  and  missions.  Under  this  in- 
fluence all  that  region  became  interested  in  missions,  young 
Coillard  among  the  others.  His  mother's  poverty  forced  her  to 
send  him  into  service  at  the  age  of  fifteen,  but  in  1851,  hearing 
an  appeal  from  the  Missionary  Societ}^  he  pledged  himself  to 
the  work  and  managed  with  much  self-sacrifice  to  go  to  school. 
He  made  wonderful  progress  and  in  1854  was  admitted  to  the 


118       FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM 

House  of  Missions.  In  1857  he  was  sent  to  South  Africa  and 
met  the  Moffats,  who  told  him  that  the  motto  of  African  Mis- 
sions was  "  Patience,  patience,  patience."  Of  this  his  whole 
subsequent  hfe  of  toil,  pain,  disappointments,  imprisonment, 
checks  and  deliverances  gave  ample  proof.  After  Livingston, 
he  was  the  pioneer  of  Central  Africa,  and  like  Livingston  he 
gave  to  it  his  life.  He  was  the  first  to  respond  to  the  heroic 
determination  of  the  Basutos  to  enter  upon  a  foreign  mission 
work  of  their  own,  and  their  perseverance  during  the  many 
disappointments  and  large  expenses  attending  his  first  exploring 
expedition  of  two  years  is  an  eloquent  testimony  to  their  evan- 
gelizing zeal.  During  the  first  experiment  in  Matabeleland  his 
life  was  always  in  danger,  and  when  months  of  hazardous  en- 
deavor, with  imprisonment,  resulted  in  his  expulsion  from  the 
country,  one  Matabele  left  all  to  follow  him,  later  becoming  a 
successful  schoolmaster  and  evangelist.  At  last,  on  the  Zambezi, 
Coillard  found  the  Sessuto-speaking  Batoki  and  Barotsi — a 
great  advantage  for  his  Basuto  evangelists — and  there  he  suc- 
ceeded in  establishing  a  mission  which,  though  baptized  in  "  the 
waters  of  affliction,"  has  changed  the  character  of  a  vast  region. 
He  struggled  long  against  the  desire  of  French  Protestants  to 
abandon  all  but  Colonial  Missions.  For  years  he  literally 
agonized  in  prayer  for  King  Lewanika,  whom,  with  all  his  dis- 
appointing traits  of  character,  he  dearly  loved.  His  beloved  wife 
Christina  died,  worn  out  with  toil  and  privation,  and  left  him 
in  the  utter  loneliness  of  the  man  who  has  only  native  helpers. 
After  a  visit  to  France  in  1899  fourteen  men  and  women  fol- 
lowed him,  and  though  the  King  was  "  always  the  same 
chameleon,"  he  had  the  comfort  of  seeing  the  work  expand. 
It  was  not  given  him  to  see  the  fruits  of  his  labors,  but 
he  died  as  he  had  wished,  in  Zambezia,  and  sleeps  beside 
his  Christina.  His  will,  a  solemn  challenge  to  French  Prot- 
estants, runs  thus : 

"  On  the  threshold  of  eternity  and  in  the  presence  of  my 
God,  I  solemnly  bequeath  to  the  Churches  of  France,  my  native 
land,  the  responsibility  of  the  Lord's  work  in  the  Barotsi  coun- 
try, and  adjure  them,  in  his  sacred  name,  never  to  give  it  up, 
for  that  would  be  to  miss  and  renounce  the  rich  harvest  sure 
to  spring  up  from  seed  that  was  sown  in  suffering  and  tears." 


FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM        119 

That  harvest  was  already  whitening  when  the  war  gave  to 
his  Zambezians  an  opportunit}'  to  prove  to  France  the  value  of 
his  teachings  and  his  prayers. 

5.  Mare  and  New  Caledonia.  The  rapid  extension 
of  the  French  colonial  empire  opened  several  new  mission 
fields  to  the  Paris  Society. 

In  1891,  the  London  Society  handed  over  to  the  French 
Society  their  mission  in  the  island  of  Mare  (Loyalty 
Islands)  ;  from  Mare  the  Society  in  1899  crossed  over  to 
New  Caledonia,  the  "France  of  the  Antipodes,"  where 
an  admirable  missionary  work  had  been  begun  by  native 
pastors  from  islands  previously  evangelized. 

In  New  Caledonia  and  Mare  missionary  work  assumes 
the  form  of  a  struggle  against  the  vices  of  western  civi- 
lization, which  threaten  the  very  existence  of  the  native 
races.  Here,  as  in  South  Africa,  the  Gospel  has  proved 
the  only  sure  protection  against  these  evils.  In  spite  of 
all  difficulties,  the  Church  grows  rapidly,  and  a  small  body 
of  about  1,400  communicants  contribute  every  year  more 
than  10,000  francs  ($2,000). 

6.  French  Congo.  While  Stanley,  acting  as  repre- 
sentative of  King  Leopold  of  Belgium,  was  preparing  the 
foundation  of  the  Congo  Free  State,  a  French  naval 
officer,  Savorgnan  de  Brazza,  was  peacefully  conquering 
for  his  country  a  large  part  of  the  same  Congo  region. 
American  missionaries  had  settled  in  Gaboon  in  1842, 
and  on  the  Ogowe  River  in  1874.  After  the  French  con- 
quest, the  American  missionaries,  meeting  with  many 
difficulties  due  to  the  fact  that  they  were  obliged  to  teach 
French  in  their  schools,  asked  the  Paris  Society  to  take 
up  at  least  a  part  of  their  work.     In  1892-93  two  sta- 


120       FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM 

tions,   on   the   Ogowe   River,   were   transferred  by   the 
Presbyterian  Board  to  the  Paris  Society. 

Since  then  the  work  on  the  Ogowe  River  has  gone  on 
steadily  increasing :  two  new  stations  have  been  founded, 
and  there  are  now  more  than  1,800  communicants. 
Much  attention  is  devoted  to  agricultural  and  industrial 
training.' 

1892  1902  1912 

Stations      1  4  4 

Out  stations    . .  30  53 

French    missionaries     (not    including 

wives)    3  15  21 

Native  evangelists  and  teachers 40  69 

Church  members  (communicants)    . .      150  1,000  1,702 

Pupils   100  300  449 

7.  Madagascar.  When  this  great  island,  with  15,000 
Europeans  and  3,000,000  native  inhabitants,  one-half  of 
whom  had  come  under  the  influence  of  the  Gospel,  was 
definitely  conquered  by  France,  a  new  and  heavy  duty 
was  laid  upon  French  Protestants.  The  London  Mis- 
sionary Society  had  begtm  in  Madagascar  one  of  the 
most  wonderful  missions  of  the  nineteenth  century.  The 
story  of  the  martyrs  of  the  Malagasy  Church  is  the  living 
proof  of  the  power  of  Christ  for  the  redemption  of  the 
heathen.  The  London  Missionary  Society  had  been  fol- 
lowed by  the  Friends'  Foreign  Missionary  Association, 
the  Society  for  the  Propagation  of  the  Gospel  and  by 
Norwegian  Lutherans  from  Norway  and  from  America, 
all  of  whom  had  met  with  great  success. 

The  occupation  of  the  Island  by  France  soon  appeared 
seriously  to  threaten  the  normal  development  of  Prot- 
estantism. The  Jesuits  made  great  efforts  to  supplant 
the  Protestant  missionaries.      Recognizing  the  danger, 


FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM       121 

the  Paris  Society,  though  already  overtaxed  by  its  work 
in  six  other  mission  fields,  felt  bound  to  do  its  best  to 
save  the  situation.  It  took  over  a  large  part  of  the  mis- 
sionary work  in  Madagascar,  thus  proving  to  the  natives 
that  it  is  possible  to  be  at  one  and  the  same  time  a  loyal 
subject  of  France,  and  a  faithful  servant  of  the  Gospel. 

The  task  before  it  appeared  to  be  threefold:  1,  the 
restoration  of  Protestantism  in  the  island ;  2,  the  organi- 
zation of  the  Malagasy  churches;  3,  the  extension  of 
Frerxh  Malagasy  churches.  In  all  these  it  has  admir- 
ably succeeded. 

Though  educational  work  has  seriously  suffered  during 
the  last  few  years  through  restrictive  legislation,  evan- 
gelistic work  has  extended,  and  the  native  church  is  being 
consolidated; 

By  the  adoption  of  this  mission  the  total  budget  of  the 
Paris  Society  suddenly  rose  from  frs.  480,500  ($96,100) 
in  1896,  to  frs.  700,000  ($140,000)  in  1898. 

The  splendid  conduct  of  Malagasy  soldiers  during  the 
war  has  won  much  new  sympathy  for  Protestant  mis- 
sions. At  a  touching  service  in  a  "temple"  in  Paris, 
in  January,  1918,  twenty  Malagasy  soldiers  w^ere  baptized 
and  several  afterwards  made  addresses  in  French  full  of 
patriotism.  The  majority  of  these  soldiers  were  Prot- 
estants, and  in  the  "huts"  the  singing  of  Protestant 
hymns  in  their  own  language  was  an  interesting  feature. 
In  January,  1918,  several  groups  of  Malagasy  soldiers 
sent  contributions  for  the  war  orphans  of  France. 

To  sum  up  in  brief  space  the  benefits,  direct  and  in- 
direct, of  French  Protestant  missions  is  a  difficult  task. 
The  pacification  of  vast  regions  formerly  given  over  to 
wars,  murders  and  cruelty,  the  forbidding  of  liquor  sell- 


122       FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM 

ing,  obedience  to  law,  a  high  level  of  education,  literate 
women,  trained  evangelists, — all  these  speak  of  the  civi- 
lizing effects  of  French  missions.  "North  Africa  is  fast 
becoming  Black  France,"  writes  a  Frenchman  who  from 
America  has  penetratingly  studied  his  native  country. 
"The  Basuto  mission  is  one  of  the  most  perfect  mis- 
sionary triumphs  in  the  world.  .  .  .  French  mis- 
sionaries have  cultivated  the  heroic  spirit  to  an  unusual 
degree.  .  .  .  Their  missions  are  their  most  perfect 
work  and  the  most  praiseworthy  display  of  their  energy. 
They  have  refrained  from  all  non-religious  entangle- 
ments and  have  refused  to  be  the  political  instruments  of 
any  government.  When  the  first  French  missionaries 
entered  Basotuland  in  South  Africa  the  valley  was  strewn 
with  human  bones,  there  were  few  cattle,  many  wild 
beasts,  and  natives  practiced  shockingly  cruel  pagan  cus- 
toms :  now  Lessuto  is  a  civilized  country  with  prosperous 
towns,  many  church  members,  the  church  supporting  an 
important  foreign  mission,  and  paganism  confessing  it- 
self conquered." 

In  the  World  at  Large 

The  principles  of  modern  democracy  formulated  by 
John  Calvin  were  carried  from  Geneva  to  Scotland  and 
England  by  John  Knox  and  by  the  Anglo-Scottish 
Church,  the  first  English-speaking  Puritan  Church,  which 
had  been  constituted  and  sheltered  in  Geneva  in  the  years 
1555-59. 

Nearly  all  the  religious  and  political  pamphlets  which 
set  forth  and  summed  up  Puritan  ideas  in  Scotland  and 
in  England  were  written  in  Geneva  and  printed  by  friends 
of  Calvin,  particularly  by  Jean  Crespin. 


FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM        123 

The  political  treatise  which  may  be  called  the  code  of 
Anglo-Saxon  and  Puritan  democracy  is  the  work  of 
Goodman,  printed  by  Jean  Crespin  (1558),  the  sub- 
stance of  which  Calvin  approved  with  a  few  reservations 
as  to  its  wording. 

The  Geneva  Bible  (1560), — the  famous  Puritan  Bible, 
— the  first  text-book  of  Civil  and  Ecclesiastical  Laws  and 
Regulations  (1562),  the  Guide  of  the  First  Fifty  Puri- 
tans of  America  (1630) — the  three  books  which  com- 
posed the  whole  religious,  legislative  and  political  library 
of  the  Puritans  of  Great  Britain  and  America — bear  on 
their  first  pages,  as  the  printer^s  mark,  the  arms  and 
the  motto  of  Geneva;  "Post  Tenebras  Lux."  Well  does 
the  French  Reformer  of  Geneva  deserve  the  name  of 
*'the  Father  of  Democracy." 

The  epoch  at  which  French  Protestantism  spread  its 
influence  most  widely  was  at  the  time  called  Le  Refuge 
(1685)  when  persecuted  Huguenots  fled  to  Switzerland, 
Germany,  Holland,  England  and  the  American  continent, 
bringing  with  them  not  only  their  arts  and  trades  but 
their  love  of  liberty,  their  faith,  their  language  and  their 
literature.  French  Huguenot  churches,  founded  at  that 
time,  are  to  be  found  to  this  day  in  Frankfort,  Fried- 
erichsdorf,  The  Hague,  Amsterdam,  London,  Canterbury, 
and  in  the  United  States. 

The  Huguenot  Emigration  changed  the  character  of 
the  continent  of  Europe ;  its  influence  was  felt  in  Africa 
and  the  two  Americas ;  it  was  a  mighty  wave  that  over- 
spread the  earth.  Unlike  emigrations  for  the  sake  of  con- 
quest, it  brought  blessings  wherever  it  went.  The  Hugue- 
nots fled  mainly  to  four  countries :  Switzerland,  the  Neth- 
erlands, England  and  Germany.     From  these  countries. 


124       FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM 

especially  from  Holland  and  England,  they  came  to 
America. 

Switzerland,  which  has  always  been  and  is  to-day  the 
asylum  for  the  oppressed,  received  perhaps  the  largest 
number  of  Huguenot  ref'ugees.  Geneva,  with  Calvin, 
Farel  and  Beza,  became  the  great  center  of  the  French 
Reformation,  the  light  on  the  mountain.  The  100,000  or 
more  Huguenots  who  took  refuge  in  Switzerland  became 
her  best  citizens ;  they  brought  new  industries,  especially 
jewelers'  and  watchmakers'  crafts,  and  silk  manufac- 
tures. 

The  Netherlands.  The  Huguenots  of  northern  and 
northeastern  France  found  it  easier  to  escape  to  the  Low 
Countries,  across  Flanders.  One  month  after  the  Revo- 
cation of  the  Edict  of  Nantes  there  were  5,000  refugees  in 
Rotterdam.  Prince  William  of  Orange,  the  descendant 
of  William  the  Silent,  and  of  Coligny,  formed  a  league 
of  Protestant  nations  against  France.  Holland  raised 
large  sums  of  money  for  the  refugees.  Even  the  Jews, 
thankful  for  having  found  a  place  of  religious  liberty  in 
Holland,  gave  twenty  thousand  dollars  for  the  Hugue- 
nots. At  Harlem,  Roman  Catholic  Spaniards  and  Portu- 
guese contributed  fourteen  hundred  dollars  to  the  fund. 
Some  of  the  greatest  pulpit  orators  and  the  greatest 
warriors  of  France  went  to  Holland.  The  country  blos- 
somed with  manufactures  built  up  by  the  refugees.  As 
the  result  France  saw  Holland  become  the  leading  naval 
power  of  that  day. 

England.  Here  the  influence  of  the  Huguenots  was 
deep  and  lasting.  In  Bristol  and  Norwich  stand  Hugue- 
not churches,  now  unused;  in  London  one  still  used  is 
very  prosperous.     In  the  Crypt  of  Canterbury  Cathedral 


FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM        125 

French  services,  inaugurated  at  the  Revocation  of  the 
Edict  of  Nantes,  have  not  been  discontinued  to  this  day. 
The  number  of  industries  introduced  into  England  by 
Huguenots,  and  today  largely  contributing  to  its  wealth, 
is  almost  beyond  counting. 

Germany.  Hither  also  fled  the  Huguenots  in  great 
numbers.  Seven  days  after  King  Louis  XIV  of  France 
issued  his  decree  against  the  Huguenots,  the  Great 
Elector  of  Brandenburg  published  his  decree  inviting  all 
to  come  to  his  land;  and  20,000  came.  They  brought 
new  trades  and  built  up  whole  cities  or  districts,  as  at 
Berlin,  Halle  and  JMagdeburg.  Other  German  States  fol- 
lowed the  example  of  the  Great  Elector,  notably  Hesse 
Cassel.  As  a  result  industries  blossomed  everywhere. 
The  Huguenots  introduced  silk  and  linen  weaving,  the 
making  of  silk  and  woolen  stockings,  hats  and  gloves; 
they  founded  tanneries,  and  excelled  in  the  smith,  cutlery 
and  jewelry  trades.  By  their  knowledge  of  mining,  they 
diverted  the  copper  trade  from  Sweden  and  the  iron 
trade  from  France.  They  helped  to  lay  the  foundations 
of  modern  Germany.  Some  of  the  most  competent 
officers  today  in  the  German  Army  are  descended  from 
these  exiled  Huguenots.  In  the  town  of  Friedrichsdorf 
the  archaic  French  tongue  of  the  seventeenth  century 
is  still  spoken;  the  customs  of  the  French  are  pre- 
served and  the  French  Protestant  liturgy  is  used  in  the 
church. 

Other  Countries.  The  Huguenots  also  fled  to  Den- 
mark, Sweden  and  Russia,  where  Huguenot  colonies 
were  formed  in  Moscow  and  in  the  new  capital,  now 
Petrograd,  and  a  small  agricultural  and  mercantile  colony 
settled  on  the  banks  of  the  Volga.     There,  well  into  the 


126       FRENCH  AND  B£I,GIAN  PROTESTANTISM 

nineteenth  century,  the  complete  costume  of  the  time  of 
Louis  XIV  was  worn,  even  to  the  voluminous  wigf,  and 
the  classic  French  of  that  day  was  spoken.  They  fled  to 
other  continents :  to  India,  to  Cape  Colony,  to  North  and 
South  America. 

America.  Two  Huguenot  settlements  in  the  New 
World  were  made  in  the  sixteenth  century.  The  first 
was  at  Rio  de  Janeiro  (Brazil)  in  1555.  The  first  Prot- 
estant service  held  in  America  was  held  there  on  May  10, 
1557,  by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Richier.  This  colony  was  de- 
stroyed a  few  years  later  by  the  Portuguese,  but  it  had 
the  honor  of  being  the  first  Protestant  Foreign  Mission 
and  of  furnishing  the  first  martyrs  of  Protestant  mis- 
sions. The  second  Huguenot  settlement  was  in  Florida 
under  John  Ribaut  in  1562;  it  was  destroyed  by 
Menendez  and  the  Spaniards  in  1565,  but  recent  re- 
searches give  reason  to  believe  that  a  few  of  its  members 
survived,  descendants  of  whom  have  been  men  honored 
in  the  history  of  the  United  States. 

In  1604,  the  first  colony  in  Canada  was  led  by  Pierre 
De  Monts,  a  Huguenot  who  settled  at  what  is  now 
Annapolis  in  Nova  Scotia.  Later,  Huguenots  were  not 
permitted  to  settle  in  Canada,  and  a  number  of  them 
moved  to  the  Far  West. 

Much  has  been  written  on  the  Huguenot  settlements  at 
Boston,  at  Oxford  (Mass.),  in  Rhode  Island,  at  New 
Rochelle  and  New  York.  In  1677,  a  congregation  was 
organized  at  New  Paltz  in  the  Catskills.  In  1687  a 
Huguenot  church  was  founded  in  Charleston  (S.  C), 
the  climate  being  favorable  for  grape  and  silk  culture. 
A  thousand  Huguenots  came  there  from  Holland  and  six 
hundred  from  England.     They  took  up  360  acres  of  land 


FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM        127 

and  founded  the  French  town  of  Jamestown  in  the 
Carolinas. 

Many  Huguenots  came  to  Pennsylvania  from  the 
Palatinate;  fleeing  before  the  invasion  of  the  armies  of 
Louis  XIV,  when  1,200  villages  were  ravaged  and  burnt 
in  midwinter.  Fearing  to  be  recognized  by  the  French, 
many  destroyed  their  family  papers  and  had  their  French 
names  translated  into  German;  and  thus  many  of  the 
^'Pennsylvania  Dutch"  are  really  of  Huguenot  and  French 
descent. 

Professor  Charles  Weiss  wrote  thus  of  the  influence  of 
the  Huguenot  refugees  in  foreign  lands :  "They  were  des- 
tined, above  all  in  America,  to  temper  the  fanaticisms  of 
the  Puritans  and  fecundate  the  germs  and  favour  the 
triumph  of  that  spirit  of  independence  regulated  by  law, 
of  which  the  United  States  to-day  offers  the  magnificent 
results.  .  .  .  They  have  enriched  many  countries  by 
improving  their  manufactures,  by  endowing  them  with 
new  branches  of  industry,  by  stimulating  their  commer- 
cial activity  and  by  introducing  into  them  the  superior 
modes  of  French  agriculture.  .  .  .  They  have  set  an 
example  of  urbanity  in  social  relations,  politeness  in  lan- 
guage, severity  in  morals,  and  inexhaustible  charity  in 
their  intercourse  with  the  suffering  classes." 

The  influence  of  French  Protestantism  upon  the  world 
has  been  cogently  expressed  in  the  address  of  Dr.  John 
R.  Mott  at  the  Annual  Convention  of  the  American 
McAll  Association,  held  in  Buffalo,  N.  Y.,  in  1913 : 

We  have  Protestantism  in  France  and  it  is  a  type  of  Prot- 
estantism of  which  we  are  not  ashamed  and  for  which  we  shall 
never   apologize.    ...    I   know   of   no    Protestant   Church   in 


128       FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM 

Europe  or  America  which  in  proportion  to  its  membership  and 
its  wealth  is  conducting  a  more  splendid  piece  of  foreign  mis- 
sionary work  than  the  Protestant  Church  in  France.  It  is 
simply  wonderful  and  almost  unbelievable. 

My  work  has  taken  me  repeatedly  to  the  other  Latin  coun- 
tries of  Europe,  such  as  Spain,  Portugal,  Italy  and  the  Latin 
section  of  Belgium  and  of  Switzerland,  and  I  have  been  amazed 
to  find  that  thoughtful  people  as  well  as  the  masses  are  influ- 
enced more  profoundly  by  what  takes  place  in  and  through 
France  than  by  what  takes  place  in  and  through  any  other 
country  in  the  world.  My  experiences  in  Russia  have  shown 
me  that  France  holds  a  position  of  influence  absolutely  unique 
among  the  great  masses  of  that  people. 

Moreover,  when  I  think  of  the  strategy  of  work  for  France, 
I  think  of  something  besides  Europe.  .  .  .  Remember  that  the 
Moslem  advance  is  pressing  down  like  a  gigantic  glacier  toward 
the  heart  of  Africa,  from  French  Africa  as  well  as  from  other 
parts  of  Northern  Moslem  Africa.  To  reach  French  Africa, 
the  most  difficult  part  of  Africa,  and  to  shatter  the  Moslem 
power  at  its  base,  is  true  strategy.  We  can  do  it  best  by  way 
of  France. 

We  ought  to  think  of  Asia  as  well  as  Africa.  Is  it  not  sig- 
nificant that  the  two  greatest  unoccupied  masses  of  people  can 
best  be  approached  by  strengthening  the  hands  of  Christianity 
in  France?  It  is  a  matter  much  overlooked  by  us  Anglo- 
Saxons,  who  have  been  priding  ourselves  so  long  that  we  hold 
the  key  to  almost  every  situation.  Thus,  I  say,  there  is  a 
strategy,  and  it  is  a  world-wide  strategy'. 


IV 
FRENCH  PROTESTANTS  AND  THE  WAR 

The  outbreak  of  war  in  August,  1914,  came  unex- 
pectedly upon  the  Protestant  churches  of  France,  which 
were  dreaming  their  generous  and  pacific  dream.  The 
great  majority  of  French  Protestants  had  always  loathed 
war.  If  asked  what  is  the  supreme  title  of  its  spiritual 
head,  French  Protestantism  would  unanimously  answer, 
"He  is  the  Prince  of  Peace." 

War  broke  out  however.  French  pastors  were  pre- 
paring the  organization  of  the  Congress  of  Social  Chris- 
tianity, which  was  to  be  held  in  Basle  in  September,  1914, 
with  a  view  to  uniting  Christians  of  all  countries  upon 
the  essential  affirrhations  of  the  Gospel. 

A  few  French  pastors  had  confidently  gone  to  Con- 
stance to  attend  a  religious  convention  which  aimed  at 
making  the  organization  of  peace  a  primary  article  of 
the  Christian  program.  The  war  found  them  in  Con- 
stance kneeling  for  prayer.  What  was  the  duty  of  Chris- 
tians in  that  tragic  hour? 

French  Christians  asked  their  hearts,  asked  their  con- 
science. Duty  thus  appeared  to  them :  Germany  having 
committed  a  deliberate  assault  against  the  peace  of  the 
world,  the  only  means  left  to  serve  peace  was  to  resist 
Germany  and  her  guilty  leaders.  These  Christians  did 
resist,  supported  by  a  faith  at  once  religious  and  patri- 
otic ;  and  this  faith  has  been  to  numberless  ministers  and 

129 


130       FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM 

laymen  an  inspiration  to  heroic  deeds,  worthy  of  the 
greatest  epochs  of  history. 

Heroes  are  those  young  Protestants  who,  with  no  spirit 
of  revenge  nor  thirst  for  glory,  have  shed  their  blood  on 
the  battle  front  crying,  "Long  live  Liberty !"  The  death 
of  such  as  Roger  AUier,  son  of  the  valiant  professor 
Raoul  Allier,  of  Captain  Comet  Auquier,  son  of  the 
pastor  of  Chalon  sur  Saone,  of  the  missionary  students 
Alfred  Casalis,  Francis  Monod  and  many  others,  re- 
vealed the  soul  of  the  young  generation,  which  had  grown 
up  under  Protestant  influences  and  had  been  stirred  by 
the  generous  ardors  symbolised  by  the  tricolored  flag  of 
France.  The  expiatory  death  of  these  young  men,  no 
longer  counted  by  hundreds  and  by  thousands  but  by 
tens  of  thousands,  signifies  that  any  power  in  the  world 
arising  to  threaten  the  ideal  for  which  Jesus  Christ  gave 
his  life  will  have  to  reckon  with  a  barrier  of  dauntless 
hearts. 

Heroes  also  are  those  pastors  ^  who  joined  the  army  as 
combatants,  chaplains  or  hospital  attendants,  and  who 
have  unwaveringly  done  their  duty  to  the  end.  Many  of 
them  have  been  honored  Avith  orders  and  with  noble 
citations.  But  the  spirit  of  war  was  not  their  leading 
impulse.  They  struggled  and  many  of  them  died,  in  the 
conviction  that  the  cause  supported  by  France  and  her 

*  The  Rev.  A.  Valez,  in  a  brief  study,  N'os  Pasteurs  an  Feu 
("Our  Pastors  on  the  Firing  Line"),  1918,  shows  that  in 
August,  1914,  of  900  Protestant  pastors  about  450  were  mobilized, 
with  practically  all  the  Divinity  students,  doing  their  patriotic 
duty  on  the  field  and  in  trenches  with  rabbis  and  priests,  as 
chaplains,  stretcher  bearers  and  nurses,  or  as  ofBcers  and  com- 
mon soldiers ;  faithfully,  valiantly  and  generously  performing 
,the  duty  of  the  French  citizen. 


FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM        131 

Allies  is  the  incarnation  of  the  spirit  of  the  Gospel. 
Adolphe  de  Richemond,  who  fell  on  the  field,  Henri  Nick, 
Jacques  Pannier,  Louis  Gonin,  Elie  Gounelle  and  many 
other  ministers,  whose  deeds  bear  comparison  with  those 
of  the  best  army  officers,  were  or  still  are  prominent 
members  of  French  peace  societies.  Their  fight  against 
Germany  was  a  fight  against  war. 

But  not  everyone  is  called  to  the  firing-line.  At  the 
rear,  many  aged  or  invalid  pastors,  inspired  with  the  like 
courage  and  faith,  ministered  to  vacant  parishes  and 
helped  bereaved  and  mourning  families.  Am.ong  these 
may  be  named  the  author,  Paul  Sabatier,  who  years  ago 
gave  up  his  parish  to  devote  himself  to  literary  work. 
During  the  past  four  years  he  has  been  preaching  in 
remote  villages  of  the  Cevennes  mountains.  IMany  lay- 
men and  many  women  have  had  their  share  in  this 
ministry. 

In  August,  1914,  Professor  Paul  Stapfer,  honorary 
Dean  of  Bordeaux  University,  took  a  country  parish  and 
preached  every  Sunday.  Many  a  pastor's  wife,  during 
all  the  years  since  her  husband's  call  to  the  colors,  has 
been  performing  every  ministerial  office  in  her  church. 

Aged  people,  young  girls,  even  children,  by  nursing  the 
wounded  and  caring  for  other  victims  of  the  war  have 
given  evidence  of  the  strength  which  fills  the  hearts  of 
servants  of  Christ — the  Master  whose  spirit  France  has 
expressed  so  faithfully! 

The  churches  did  not  lose  courage.  They  were  full 
of  confidence  and  resolution.  In  the  invaded  regions,  in 
shattered  churches,  destitute  of  heat,  they  met  to  the 
end  to  pray  and  to  rejoice  in  God.     "We  accept  our  share 


132       FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM 

in  the  national  suffering,"  they  said,  "and  put  our  con- 
fidence in  Him  who  has  thus  far  provided." 

Religious  newspapers  have  wonderfully  ministered  to 
the  lofty  spirit  of  religious  patriotism  which  has  strik- 
ingly characterized  France  during  all  these  years. 

Four  days  after  the  declaration  of  war,  August  4, 
1914,  the  late  Pastor  Charles  Babut,^  one  of  the  most 
honored  Protestant  ministers,  who  is  said  to  have  coined 
the  expression  La  Pair  par  le  Droit — "Peace  through 
Right,"  wrote  a  letter  to  Pastor  Ernst  Dryander,  first 
Court  Chaplain  in  Berlin,  earnestly  requesting  him  to 
lend  support  to  a  declaration  to  be  issued  by  Christians  of 
all  European  countries,  urging  them  to  banish  hatred 
from  their  hearts,  and  use  the  influence  at  their  disposal 
to  secure  that  the  war  should  be  conducted  with  the  great- 
est possible  humanity.  Dr.  Dryander's  reply,  dated  Sep- 
tember 15,  1914,  which  came  through  a  German  re- 
ligious magazine,  was  nothing  short  of  a  rebuke  to  Pastor 
Babut's  proposals,  asserting  that  Germans  were  "like  a 
peaceful  man  assailed  by  three  bloodthirsty  hyenas  at 
once,"  while  "no  warning  whatever  was  needed  to  mduce 
Germany  to  wage  war  in  accordance  wath  Christian  prin- 
ciples, as  demanded  by  humanity.  We  are  quite  confi- 
dent," the  letter  continues,  "speaking  with  full  knowledge, 
that  on  our  side  the  lighting  is  going  on  with  a  self- 

^  The  death  of  Pastor  Babut  occurred  in  September,  1916 ;  he 
left  behind  him  two  volumes  of  war  sermons,  preached  in 
1914-16,  which  have  been  published  by  his  son.  M.  Babut 
had  completed  his  eightieth  year  in  April,  1916;  he  was  almost 
completely  blind  and  deaf;  he  had  lost  his  eldest  son  "upon  the 
Field  of  Honor;"  yet  in  that  month  of  April  he  dictated, 
learned  by  heart  and  preached  six  sermons,  four  of^  them  for 
special  occasions,  all  admirable  in  Torm  and  weighty  in  thought 
and  in  religious  experience.  Two  other  sermons  were  read 
from  his  pulpit  on  the  Sundays  after  his  death. 


FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM       133 

restraint,  a  degree  of  mildness  and  conscientiousness  per- 
haps till  now  unexampled  in  the  history  of  mankind." 

In  vivid  contrast  to  the  proclamation  of  the  *'93  Intel- 
lectuals "  of  Germany,  is  the  proclamation  ^  issued  in  Oc- 
tober, 1915,  by  the  French  Protestant  Committee  for 
Propaganda  in  Foreign  Lands,  signed  by  Andre  Weiss, 
President,  and  89  other  men  distinguished  in  French 
Protestantism — pastors,  professors  and  men  of  letters, 

*  To  THE  Protestants  of  Neutral   States  : 

In  the  name  of  the  principles  of  the  Sixteenth  Century 
Reformation  whose  sons  you  are  as  well  as  we,  we  would 
defend  before  you  with  regard  to  this  war,  in  which  the  very 
future  of  humanity  is  at  stake,  the  cause  of  France  and  her 
Allies.  .   .   . 

We  ask  that  those  who  believe  that  Germany  and  Austria 
Hungary  are  fighting  only  to  defend  themselves  against  enemies 
envious  of  their  power  will  revise  their  judgment.  Of  those 
who  still  hesitate  and  dare  not  pronounce  themselves,  we  await 
with  entire  confidence  a  serious  examination  of  the  proofs  of 
the  justice  of  our  cause.  .    .    . 

Our  belief  commands  us  in  all  things  to  seek  and  serve  the 
Truth.  It  "is  great  and  shall  prevail."  The  power  of  false- 
hood may  triumph  for  a  moment,  but  to  the  Truth  alone  belongs 
final  and  decisive  victory.  .    .    . 

Free  citizens  of  states,  larger  or  smaller  by  the  number  of 
their  inhabitants  but  alike  great  by  the  mission  which  is  yours, 
consider  the  results  of  a  victory  by  Germany.  .  .  .  Can  you  be 
ignorant  of  her  ambition  to  extend  her  empire  in  Europe,  and 
when  victorious  to  subject  the  world  to  her  political  and  eco- 
nomic domination? 

Is  there  a  single  people  that  does  not  understand  that  upon 
the  issue  of  this  war  its  own  destiny  depends  ?  With  Germany 
and  its  allies  victorious,  in  vain  will  you  appeal  to  your  neu- 
trality, and  her  respect  for  treaties.  Who  will  rise  to  defend 
you?  ... 

We  are  struggling  to  insure  the  victory  of  that  righteousness 
which  as  the  Holy  Book  says,  alone  "exalteth  a  nation."  Will 
not  you  stand  beside  us,  in  the  defense  of  the  most  sacred  of 
causes?  .    .   . 

Come,  nobly  armed  with  truth,  to  help  us  in  fighting  for  the 
liberties  of  peoples  and  the  sacred  rights  of  nations! 


134       FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM 

admirals,  generals  and  other  army  officers,  ministers  of 
State  and  to  foreign  countries,  writers,  senators,  coun- 
sellors of  state — names  known  and  honored  throughout 
the  "intellectual"  world. 

The  two  hundredth  anniversary  of  the  first  "Desert 
Synod"  was  celebrated  by  the  "War  Synod"  of  the  Evan- 
gelical Reformed  Churches  held  in  1915  at  Crest,  in  the 
Drome.  Plans  had  been  matured  for  convening  repre- 
sentatives of  all  the  sister  churches  of  France,  Belgium, 
Switzerland,  Italy  and  England,  but  the  war  not  only 
made  this  impracticable  but  prevented  the  churches  of 
the  invaded  regions  from  sending  commissioners.  But 
the  Synod  gave  evidence  of  its  faith  in  the  Church  and 
in  the  country,  and  notwithstanding  its  heavy  deficit 
(then  more  than  250,000  francs)  it  assumed  responsi- 
biHty  for  the  full  reimbursement  of  the  salaries  of 
pastors,  temporarily  diminished  by  the  exigencies  of  war. 

The  Christian  Society  of  the  North,  a  section  of  the 
Central  Evangelical  Society,  though  it  had  grievously 
suflfered  by  all  its  posts  except  three  being  in  the  invaded 
regions,  sent  word  to  the  mother  society  that  "here  be- 
yond the  firing  line,  the  churches  are  all  of  one  heart  and 
one  soul,  holding  out  in  tribulation  and  expecting  to  be 
faithful  unto  death."  They  were  greatly  encouraged 
by  the  presence  among  them  of  Professor  Jean  Mon- 
nier  of  Paris,  who  immediately  after  the  outbreak  of  war 
had  hastened  to  put  himself  at  the  service  of  the  Central 
Society,  asking  to  be  sent  to  the  most  difficult  post  at  its 
disposal.  He  was  sent  to  Lens,  in  the  very  heart  of  the 
iron  furnace,  and  in  1916  was  able  to  send  out  just  two 
lines :  "I  am  well  and  need  nothing,  but  I  would  that  my 
dear  ones  might  receive  the  good  news." 


%f 


FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM       135 

On  March  7,  1917,  a  largely  attended  National  As- 
sembly met  in  the  Sorbonne,  the  President  of  the 
RepubHc  being  present,  to  affirm  once  more  the  "Union 
Sacree,"  as  the  safest  assurance  against  any  enterprise 
of  the  enemy.  On  that  occasion  Professor  Andre  Weiss, 
President  of  the  French  Protestant  Committee,  speaking 
in  the  name  of  the  Protestants  of  France  said : 

To  the  magnificent  effort  which  makes  the  Allies  stand  firm 
against  the  powers  of  oppression  and  falsehood,  French  Protes- 
tants are  bringing  their  most  resolute  cooperation.  As  the 
descendants  of  those  noble  Huguenots  who,  long  before  the 
French  Revolution,  proclaimed  the  right  of  nations  to  freedom, 
they  affirm,  in  the  name  of  their  religious  faith,  the  holiness 
of  the  cause  defended  by  the  Allies.  They  stigmatize  the 
numberless  outrages  committed  by  an  enemy  who  dares  blas- 
phemously to  claim  the  Divine  Majesty  as  a  partner  in  his 
own  crimes.  They  are  prepared  for  all  sacrifices  necessary  to 
secure  that  total  victory  which  alone  will  liberate  mankind  and 
give  back  to  France  the  provinces  forced  by  sheer  violence  from 
their  tenderly  beloved  mother. 

With  their  forefathers  they  repeat:  "Sweet  is  peril  for  Christ 
and  for  France !  " 

This  declaration  appeared  on  official  posters  not  only 
in  French  Protestant  churches  but  also  on  state  buildings, 
and  W2LS  profusely  posted  in  Paris. 

Early  in  1917,  the  Committee  began  to  bring  moral 
support  to  the  Protestant  people  of  France  by  setting 
forth  the  moral  aims  of  the  war.  Literature  has  been 
largely  circulated  and  lectures  have  been  given  in  most 
of  the  churches.  This  campaign  has  been  considered  by 
the  French  government  as  of  great  importance. 

During  those  years  of  agony  the  French  Protestant 
Federation,  desirous  of  giving  French  Protestantism  its 


136       FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM 

due  place  in  public  knowledge  and  opinion,  had  from  time 
to  time  organized  courses  of  free  public  lectures  on  sub- 
jects of  large  general  interest.  A  prominent  place  in  these 
lecture  courses  had  been  given  to  the  subject  of  Alsace, 
and  in  1918  the  Federation  issued  a  Call  to  all  French 
Churches  to  commemorate  the  Protest  made  by  the 
Deputies  of  Alsace  and  Lorraine  on  March  1,  1871, 
against  the  treaty  by  which  the  National  Assembly  (then 
sitting  in  Bordeaux)  gave  them  over  to  Germany.  On 
Sunday,  March  3,  1918,  this  protest  was  read  in  every 
place  of  worship  in  France,  Protestant,  Catholic  and 
Jewish,  and  explained  to  the  Sunday  School  children. 

When  the  Third  War  loan  was  being  floated  the  French 
Protestant  Committee  for  Propaganda  in  Foreign  Lands 
issued  a  noble  "Appeal  to  the  Protestants  of  France"  in 
its  favor: 

"At  the  moment  when  the  Patrie  expects  from  all  its  children 
the  resources  indispensable  to  its  victorious  defense  against  un- 
righteous aggression  .  .  .  the  Protestant  Committee  for  French 
Propaganda  .  .  .  adjures  its  fellow  believers  and  compatriots 
to  subscribe  as  largely  as  possible  to  the  Loan  decreed  by  the 
government  after  a  unanimous  vote  of  the  Chambers.  ...  It 
is  a  question  of  showing  that  our  people,  who  have  given  with- 
out stint  the  blood  of  their  noblest  sons,  much  more  precious 
than  gold,  are  more  than  ever  resolved  to  bring  to  the  Patrie 
its  material  resources  not  less  than  its  determined  and  tenacious 
will  for  the  necessary  triumph  of  the  Right.  What  French 
Protestant  will  shrink  from  this  duty?  .  .  .  What  French 
Protestant  will  refuse  to  bring  his  humble  part  of  effort,  hope 
and  faith  to  France,  wounded  but  greater,  more  beautiful,  more 
worthy  of  love,  as  her  sufferings,  firmly  offered  and  heroically 
accepted,  bring  nearer  that  pure  victory  which  shall  be  .  .  . 
the  exaltation  of  the  noblest  French  and  human  ideal  of  Justice 
and  Liberty?" 

Upon  the  entrance  of  the  United  States  into  the  war 
the  following  cable  message  was  forwarded  to  President 
Wilson  and  the  United  States  government  through  the 


FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM        137 

American  Ambassador  in  Paris  and  circulated  in  the 
French  press: 

The  French  Protestant  Committee,  in  its  session  of  April 
11,  1917,  with  deep  emotion  hails  the  step  taken  by  the  Gov- 
ernment and  people  of  the  United  States. 

The  sons  of  the  Huguenots  send  a  brotherly  message  to  that 
immense  people  across  the  ocean  who,  like  themselves,  have  the 
Gospel  for  the  foundation  of  their  faith,  and  Freedom  for  their 
charter. 

As  French  citizens,  they  most  gladly  welcome  this  noble  and 
powerful  nation  into  the  struggle  which  will  unite  all  free  men 
in  the  whole  world,  for  the  liberation  of  those  now  kept  under 
oppression.  They  hail  the  never  to  be  forgotten  words  of 
President  Wilson,  tlie  heir  of  Franklin,  of  Washington,  of 
Lincoln,  giving  to  the  world  the  Declaration  of  Rights  of  the 
Nations,  throwing  a  new  light  on  the  awful  conflict,  unveiling 
the  forthcoming  and  successful  crowning  of  the  cruel  sacrifices 
made  to  the  cause  of  Justice  and  Humanity. 

The  French  Protestant  Committee  is  pleased  to  think  its 
influence  in  the  United  States  has  served  and  will  promote  that 
great  work  of  union  and  fraternity. 

The  welcome  was  first  publicly  shown  at  a  great 
"Manifestation"  of  the  French  Naval  League  held  in 
the  Sorbonne  on  April  20,  1917,  but  it  was  only  a  few 
days  later  when  French  Protestants,  by  their  recently 
formed  French  Protestant  Committee,  officially  wel- 
comed representatives  of  the  American  press  by  an  im- 
pressive demonstration.  In  eloquent  addresses  of  appre- 
ciation the  President  of  the  Committee,  M.  Andre  Weiss, 
and  the  President  of  the  French  Protestant  Historical 
Society,  M.  Frank  Puaux,  made  themselves  the  spokes- 
men of  French  Protestantism.^ 

^  The  influence  of  American  journalists  in  France  over  Ameri- 
can opinion  was  recognized  by  M.  Weiss,  who  showed  how  they 


138       FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM 

The  entrance  of  America  into  the  conflict  was  hailed 
with  deep  fervor  by  all  France  as  if  a  revered  and  trusted 
brother  had  come  to  its  relief. 

A  great  Franco-American  Assembly  was  held  on  June 
3,  1917,  in  the  Church  of  the  Oratoire  under  the  auspices 
of  the  Federation  of  Protestant  Churches  of  France,  the 
American  Ambassador  being  present  and  with  many 
members  of  the  American  colony  joining  in  singing,  **My 
Country,  Tis  of  Thee."  After  a  discourse  by  the  presi- 
dent, M.  Edouard  Gruner,  and  an  address  by  Pastor 
Charles  Wagner,  "declarations"  were  made  by  Dr. 
Chauncey  W.  Goodrich  of  the  American  Church,  Dr. 
Samuel  W.  Watson  of  the  American  Episcopal  Church 
of  the  Holy  Trinity,  and  Dr.  Ernest  W.  Shurtleff  of  the 


had  invariably  presented  to  American  leaders  a  "  France  united, 
active,  prompt  for  all  heroisms,  in  the  defense  of  its  threatened 
independence;  its  youth  with  one  heart  ready  for  the  supreme 
sacrifice,  its  women  all  courage  and  abnegation,  the  entire  na- 
tion, with  no  thought  of  conquest,  solely  intent  upon  restoring 
violated  right,  redressing  injustice,  liberating  the  enchained, 
restoring  the  exiles  of  Alsace  and  Lorraine  to  that  homeland 
that  is  always  in  their  hearts."  He  closed  with  an  eloquent 
tribute  to  "  the  immortal  words  of  President  Wilson "  which, 
like  the  flame  from  the  Statue  of  Liberty  enlightening  the 
world  at  the  entrance  to  the  great  harbor  of  his  country,  will 
blaze  forth  to  the  universe  a  reminder  that  "Right  cannot  per- 
ish ;  Right  is  eternally  the  sovereign  of  the  world." 

M.  Frank  Puaux  reviewed  America's  hospitality  to  fugitive 
Huguenots  and  the  services  they  and  their  descendants  have 
rendered  to  her  in  return,  closing  v/ith  a  tribute  to  the  Ameri- 
can flag: 

"In  the  dark  night  of  a  war  forced  upon  us  by  the  crimes  of 
foes,  behold  the  constellation  of  stars,  like  the  glorious  constel- 
lations of  the  firmament!  It  shines  from  the  noble  standard  of 
the  United  States,  each  star  proclaiming  the  pure  victory  of 
Liberty,  Equality  and  Fraternity.  Brothers  of  America,  you 
have^  begun  your  march  toward  the  Star  in  the  East,  and  the 
day  is  at  hand  when  it  will  rest  victorious  over  this  land,  and 
the  sacred  words  will  again  be  heard — '  Peace  upon  earth !  * " 


FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM       139 

Student  Movement,  whose  death  soon  after  plunged  the 
student  world  into  sorrow.  A  Hymn  of  Union  written 
for  the  occasion  by  Dr.  Shurtleff  was  sung.^ 

As  an  expression  of  the  warm  gratitude  of  France 
for  the  cooperation  of  America  in  their  present  con- 
flict, the  Federal  Council  of  French  Protestantism  issued 
an  appeal  to  all  Protestant  Churches  to  observe  "Mother's 
Day'*  on  May  12,  1918. 

When  three  Scandinavian  Lutheran  prelates,  the  Arch- 
bishop of  Upsala  (Sweden),  the  Bishop  of  Christiania 
(Norway)  and  the  Bishop  of  Zealand  (Denmark)  issued 
in  January,  1918,  a  call  to  all  Protestant  churches  of 
Europe  to  send  delegates  to  a  conference  in  the  interests 
of  peace,  the  Council  of  the  French  Protestant  Federa- 
tion drew  up  a  reply  which  was  adopted  by  all  the 
churches  and  sent  to  the  Scandinavian  countries.  Five 
days  later,  a  second  invitation  was  issued.  It  was  most 
courteously  answered,  emphatically  explaining  that  such 
a  conference  was  at  the  time  impossible,  being  contrary 

*  Eulogistic  notices  of  this  meeting  appeared  in  the  religious 
press.  Paul  Doumergue  in  Le  Christianisme  called  the  War 
Message  a  "lay  encyclical."  W.  Poulin  in  the  Semaine  Religieuse 
of  Geneva  said,  "President  Wilson  has  the  honor  of  having 
uttered  words  which  give  the  war  its  moral  place  in  the  history 
of  the  world."  Pastor  Lelievre  in  L'Evangcliste  said  that  by  the 
message  "it  has  been  definitely  settled  that  the  human  race  will 
never  turn  back  to  despotism,  that  .  .  .  the  peoples  that  have 
been  sacrificed  to  save  civilization, — Belgium,  Serbia,  Rumania, 
France, — will  side  by  side  be  first  in  honor  as  they  have  been  in 
pain,  walking  in  new  ways  of  prosperity  and  greatness  with  those 
who,  having  suffered  less,  will  have  generously  poured  out  their 
blood  to  save  the  right — England,  the  United  States  and  all  the 
other  nations  even  to  the  smallest."  Professor  John  Vienot, 
in  the  Revue  Chretienne,  said,  "The  Puritans  have  lifted  up 
their  voice  to  the  great  world.  .  .  .  Democracy,  once  perceiv- 
ing the  reality  of  things,  could  not  remain  quiet  in  view  of 
the  European  Crime." 


140       FRENXH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISiM 

to  the  French  sense  of  duty  and  honor,  and  hoping  for 
the  day  when  all  neutral  nations  will  so  see  things  that 
^hey  will  be  able  to  confer  toc^ether. 

Early  in  the  year  1918  the  Protestant  Federation  of 
France  sent  to  the  Federal  Council  of  the  Churches  of 
Christ  in  America  the  following  call  to  prayer : 

The  year  1918  will  be  the  fourth  year  of  a  war  without 
precedent  in  history.  The  Allies  are  defending  the  cause  of 
justice.  The  momentous  intervention  of  the  great  American 
Republic  is  an  encouragement  to  us  all  and  strengthens  our 
resolution  to  persevere  to  the  end. 

The  future  of  the  world  will  be  decided  on  the  field  of  battle 
and  there  the  heroism  of  the  allied  soldiers  is  equal  to  their  task. 
But  to  maintain  that  heroism  and  lead  it  on  to  victory,  God  must 
be  a  living,  acting  force  among  our  people  as  He  is  our  unchang- 
ing hope.  .   .   . 

Have  the  churches  recognized,  behind  the  material  forces 
which  defend  us,  what  the  Prophet  called  the  "horses  and  chariots 
of  fire,"  the  spiritual  forces  engaged  in  the  strife,  which  will 
decide  the  ultimate  issue?  This  is  why,  in  the  name  of  all 
Protestant  Christians  in  France,  and  in  agreement  with  all  our 
Brethren  in  Great  Britain,  Ireland,  the  Dominions  and  Italy,  we 
beg  the  United  States  of  America  and  other  nations  allied  with 
us  to  choose  a  day  to  be  devoted  to  prayer,  intercession,  and 
thanksgiving.  .  .  .  While  our  brave  soldiers  multiply  their  won- 
drous deeds  of  war  and  we  are  ever  ready  to  second  their  efforts, 
let  us  present  to  God  our  intercessions  for  them  and  thus  hasten 
the  end  of  the  awful  conflict  and  the  victory  of  right  over  WTong. 
While  Joshua  fought  in  the  plain,  Moses  prayed  on  the  mount. 

We  propose  that  Sunday,  the  seventeenth  of  March,  be  devoted 
by  all  our  churches  to  fervent  and  believing  prayer  on  behalf 
of  our  peoples,  our  armies  and  navies,  our  rulers,  and  the 
Xingdom  of  God  upon  earth. 

The  attitude  of  French  Protestant  soldiers  toward  the 
-war  may  best  be  shown  by  quotations  from  the  writings 


FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM        141 

of  various  chaplains,  chiefly  Captain  Victor  Monod  and 
Pastor  Henri  Nick,  of  the  Legion  of  Honor.  The  follow- 
ing are  characteristic : 

Not  without  deep  emotion  have  young  French  Protestants, 
brought  up  according  to  the  teaching  of  the  Gospel,  accepted 
the  stern  profession  of  the  soldier.  "As  a  citizen  I  am  not  in 
the  least  disturbed,"  said  Sergeant  Pierre  de  Maupeou  (killed  at 
Ablain  St.  Nazaire,  May  28,  1915,  at  the  age  of  twenty-five). 
*•'  As  a  Christian  my  heart  is  often  troubled.  Two  opposing 
and  incompatible  sentiments  are  struggling  within  me — I  am 
not  afraid  to  confess  it.  The  morality  of  men  is  not  the 
morality  of  God." 

A  theological  student  who  fell  in  the  battle  of  the  Marne 
(killed  at  Vassincourt,  Meuse,  September  5,  1914),  wrote  to  his 
parents : 

"  The  hour  of  the  great  battle  is  near.  We  must  pray  to  God, 
not  for  the  success  of  one  army  rather  than  another,  after  the 
manner  of  the  Germans,  but  for  the  safeguarding  of  justice. 
The  one  thought  of  all  our  young  Christian  soldiers  is  to  con- 
tinue instant  in  prayer,  before  the  battle,  until  the  spirit  of  each 
man  be  at  peace  with  God." 

This  letter,  found  after  his  death,  is  from  a  young  aviator, 
Henry  Fergus  Macrain,  a  member  of  a  Paris  Reformed  church, 
a  volunteer  in  the  British  army,  killed  February  27,  1917,  at  the 
age  of  24.  His  words  of  calm,  untroubled  confidence  ring  in 
echo  of  utterances  of  the  martyrs  of  old: 

"  My  dear  mother,  I  write  this  letter  by  way  of  precaution, 
in  case  anything  unpleasant  should  happen  during  a  bombarding 
raid  I  am  about  to  make  upon  the  aerodrome  at  Douai.  As  each 
previous  time  I  have  crossed  the  lines,  I  shall  take  the  only  true 
precaution,  that  of  praying  that  I  may  hope  and  trust  in  the 
divine  help.  I  am  quite  calm,  quite  sure  that  whatever  happens 
to  me  will  be  for  the  best." 

A  humble  little  French  Protestant  soldier,  as  he  lay  dying, 
ceased  not  to  pray  with  such  earnest  fervor  that  the  Catholic 
Sister  who  was  nursing  him  treasured  up  the  w^ords  that  fell 
from  his  lips,  wrote  them  down  and  sent  them  to  his  mourning 
family : 


142       FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM 

"  O  Lord,"  he  implored,  "  Let  Thy  will  not  mine  be  done ! 
From  my  youth  I  have  given  myself  to  Thee.  I  hope  the  good 
example  I  have  ever  tried  to  set  may  have  been  of  service 
in  the  furtherance  of  Thy  glory.  Thon  knowest,  Lord,  that  I 
was  against  war,  that  I  fought  to  do  Thy  will.  I  give  my  life 
for  peace.  Lord,  I  pray  for  all  my  family.  Thou  knowest  how 
I  love  them — my  father,  my  mother,  my  brothers,  my  sisters. 
Lord,  reward  a  hundredfold  these  good  nurses  for  all  their 
kindness.  I  am  but  a  poor  man;  Thou  art  the  dispenser  of  riches. 
I  pray  for  them  all." 

Georges  Nicolet,  a  pastor  of  Paris,  enlisting  as  ambulance  at- 
tendant, asked  to  be  allowed  to  join  the  fighting  troops  as  a 
volunteer.  Unmarried  and  without  a  family,  he  believed  that  in 
so  doing  he  would  be  obedient  to  the  voice  of  conscience.  *'If 
I  fall,"  he  said,  "  my  wish  as  a  priest  is  to  die  facing  the  enemy 
and  near  to  my  God,  regretting  only  that  I  leave  no  sons  to  march 
after  me  towards  the  light."  Lieutenant  Nicolet  fell,  leading  his 
men,  in  Belgium  in  1915  at  the  age  of  34. 

The  eighteen  year  old  Alfred  Casalis,*  born  on  missionary 
ground  and  dedicated  to  mission  work,  student  of  theology, 
Sunday  School  teacher,  master  of  Boy  Scouts,  who  before  reach- 
ing the  age  of  service  volunteered  as  a  soldier,  feeling  sure 
that  he  was  going  to  his  death,  carried  into  battle  letters  of 
farewell  to  his  family  and  liis  will — the  last  lines  of  which  are: 

"  Looking  into  my  own  heart,  I  think  I  may  say,  without 
either  pride  or  false  shame,  *  I  have  fought  the  good  fight,  I 
have  finished  my  course,  I  have  kept  the  faith.'  And  I  would 
that  all  my  friends,  those  whose  thoughts  are  constantly  with 
me  and  whose  hearts  throb  with  mine,  may  be  able  to  repeat  the 
word  of  our  hope,  *  Because  I  live,  ye  shall  live  also ' — Rocham- 
court.  May  5,  1915." 

On  the  eve  of  the  offensive  in  Champagne  during  which 
Maurice  Dieterlen,  a  pupil  of  the  Ecole  des  Chartes  in  Paris, 
the  son  of  a  French  minister,  was  killed,  he  wrote: 

'■  This  is  the  finest  day  in  my  life.     I  grieve  at  nothing  and  I 

'  The  letters  of  Alfred  Casalis  translated  into  English  and 
widely  circulated  in  this  country  have  profoundly  stirred  and 
influenced   American  soldiers. 


FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM        143 

am  happy  as  a  king,  glad  to  be  laid  low  if  so  my  country  may 
be  liberated.  Tell  the  friends  I  am  going  to  victory  with  a 
smile  more  cheerful  than  the  Stoics  and  the  martyrs  of  any 
age.  We  are  a  moment  of  eternal  France.  France  must  live, 
France  must  overcome.  Prepare  your  best  clothes,  save  up  your 
smiles  to  greet  those  who  will  conquer  in  the  Great  War.  It 
won't  be  long.  We  perhaps  shall  not  be  there.  Others  will  be 
there  in  our  stead.  You  will  not  weep.  You  will  not  wear 
mourning,  for  we  shall  have  gone  to  death  with  a  smile  on  our 
lips  and  a  superhuman  joy  in  our  hearts.  Long  live  France. 
Victory  is  ours  !  " 

Protestant  sailors  in  the  navy — perhaps  only  one  or  two  on  a 
ship — make  every  effort  to  attend  such  Protestant  services  as 
they  learn  are  to  take  place  on  other  vessels.  A  chaplain  writes, 
"They  stand  fast  and  are  an  honor  to  the  country  and  our 
churches." 

From  the  colonies — Indo-China,  Cochin  China,  Tunis,  New 
Caledonia,  Morocco — come  evidences  that  the  war  strengthened 
and  brought  into  clearer  evidence  the  religious  character  both 
of  those  who  remained  with  the  army  and  of  those  who  were 
sent  back,  wounded  and  perhaps  incapable  of  future  self  support. 

Chaplain  Henri  Nick,  formerly  head  of  the  IMcAll  work  in  Lille, 
and  now  restored  to  this  post,  wrote  in  November,  1915:  "It 
would  be  hard  to  believe  what  rich  lessons  of  faith,  devotion, 
patience,  and  Christian  love  I  draw  from  interviews  with  my 
dear  soldiers,  and  letters  from  those  who  have  been  wounded." 


V 

PRESENT  CONDITION  AND  NEEDS 

French  Protestantism  is  now  in  a  critical  if  hopeful 
condition.  IMany  pastors  have  died  as  victims  of  the 
war;  a  number  are  still  in  the  army,  and  for  the  last 
four  years,  the  parishes  have  been  inadequately  cared 
for  by  pastors  whom  ill  health  or  age  had  kept  out  of 
army  service. 

It  has  been  impossible  to  hold  regular  Synods  and 
Assemblies.  Material  resources  are  obviously  unequal 
to  the  needs.  Religious  life,  which  at  the  beginning 
received  a  salutary  impulse,  seemed  to  stagnate  as  the 
war  was  protracted.  New  demands  will  be  made  upon 
social  activities  of  long  standing,  to  repair  damages  and 
to  nurse  the  wounds  of  war.  Churches  in  the  invaded 
regions,  the  missionary  stations  in  the  North  and  the 
Pas-de-Calais,  have  been  checked  in  their  activities ;  their 
churches  and  parsonages  are  destroyed,  their  members 
generally  scattered. 

The  loss  of  many  young  men  upon  whom  the  highest 
hopes  were  confidently  founded  has  deprived  the  sem- 
inaries, home  and  foreign  missions,  and  the  parishes  of 
invaluable  resources  of  strength  and  life. 

The  outlook  seems  dark,  but  the  picture  has  a  brighter 
side.  The  churches  not  only  hold  fast,  but  stand  against 
the  tempest.     They  have  stores  of  spiritual  and  moral 

144 


FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM        145 

Strength,  which  they  manifest  by  maintaining  all  their 
activities.  Nowhere  have  they  sacrificed  the  essential; 
they  still  carry  on  public  worship  and  social  work,  still 
maintain  their  seminaries,  their  educational  institutions. 
They  hope  to  keep  intact  for  France  that  salt  of  the 
earth,  a  pure  Gospel  freed  from  errors  and  superstitions. 
What  is  most  encouraging  amid  the  ruins  is  their  faith 
that  these  ruins  may  be  repaired,  the  progressive  life 
of  Protestantism  maintained.  As  at  every  former  stage 
of  their  history  since  the  Reformation  of  the  sixteenth 
century,  the  "seven  thousand  who  have  not  bent  their 
knees  to  Baal"  are  preparing  in  silence  and  hope  for  a 
new  life  that  shall  be  better  than  it  has  ever  been. 

The  Financial  Situation 

In  the  year  1898,  the  third  Centenary  of  the  Edict  of 
Nantes  was  celebrated  in  the  town  of  Nantes  by  a  large 
Protestant  Assembly.  A  survey  of  the  situation  of  the 
churches  was  then  made  and  reports  were  presented  cov- 
ering the  whole  field  of  Protestant  activities  in  France. 
One  of  the  most  valuable  of  these  reports  was  that  on 
Protestant  Charities,  prepared  by  Professor  Westphal, 
including  a  detailed  account  of  the  annual  expenses  of  all 
the  churches.  The  budget  of  French  Protestant  activi- 
ties was  then  estimated  at  seven  million  francs  ($1,400,- 
000).  At  that  time,  the  State  budget  for  Protestant 
churches  amounted  to  1,632,000  francs.  In  addition, 
there  were  various  allowances  from  town  councils,  esti- 
mated at  200,000  francs.  In  the  year  1905  came  the 
disestablishment  of  the  churches,  leaving  them  to  pro- 
vide for  all  their  needs,  thus  adding  to  their  previous 


146       FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM 

budget  a  sum  which  practically  amounted  to  two  million 
francs. 

At  the  present  time,  twenty  years  after  the  above  men- 
tioned figures  were  given,  the  yearly  budget  of  Protestant 
churches  has  largely  increased.  A  comparison  has  been 
made  by  Professor  Westphal  between  the  general  budget 
of  worship  for  Protestant  churches  in  1883  and  in  1897. 

1883,  frs.  4.800,324:  1897,  frs.  6,932,000;  Increase  in  15  years, 
frs.  2,131,676   ($426,335). 

The  increase  during  the  last  twenty  years,  1897-1918, 
must  have  been  much  larger,  as  ministers'  salaries,  main- 
tenance of  the  poor,  the  cost  of  buildings  and  taxes  have 
gone  up  with  the  general  cost  of  living.  The  yearly 
budget  of  the  churches  before  the  war  could  certainly  be 
estimated  at  ten  million  francs  or  two  million  dollars. 

The  war  immensely  increased  all  expenses,  besides  de- 
priving the  churches  of  certain  resources  which  for  the 
last  four  years  have  been  in  the  hands  of  the  enemy  or  in 
the  war  zone.  A  considerable  share  of  the  normal  re- 
sources was  also  drawn  from  the  Annexed  Departments 
of  Alsace  and  Lorraine,  with  which  there  was  no  com- 
munication during  the  w^ar.  The  losses,  war  damage  and 
destruction,  which  the  churches  had  to  suffer  can  hardly 
be  covered  by  the  sum  of  two  million  dollars,  for  which 
the  French  Protestant  Federation  asked,  in  their  Mes- 
sage of  November,  1917.     (See  p.  191.) 

In  connection  with  this  statement  it  should  be  kept  in 
mind  that  by  no  means  all  of  the  600,000  Protestants  are 
active  workers  and  givers.  IMany  are  merely  Protestants 
in  name,  while  a  considerable  number  are  children.    The 


FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM        U7 

financial  reports  in  the  present  chapter  show  how  nobly 
those  who  are  active  Christians  are  performing  their 
Christian  duty  to  Church  and  nation. 

When  the  separation  of  Church  and  State  was  under 
discussion,  a  man  prominent  in  the  political  world  said: 
"The  budget  of  Worship  is  the  oil  of  the  lamp:  if  the 
oil  is  cut  off,  the  lamp  will  go  out."  How  far  was  this 
from  the  truth!  Between  1906  and  1911  the  amount 
subscribed  for  Protestant  churches  and  theological  facul- 
ties, formerly  supported  by  the  State  by  the  annual  grant 
of  2,320,000  francs  ($464,000),  reached  the  annual  sum 
of  3,779,000  francs  ($755,800),  and  this  without  dimin- 
ishing the  contributions  for  home  and  foreign  missions, 
for  which,  between  1907  and  1911,  more  than  a  million 
francs  ($200,000),  were  subscribed  to  found  new  mission 
posts  and  stations. 

French  Protestants  were  then  entering  upon  a  new 
era.  Cooperation  between  the  few  richer  churches  of  the 
industrial  North  and  the  smaller  churches  of  the  South 
had  brought  about  a  national  unity,  so  that,  through  the 
principle  of  the  strong  helping  the  weak,  the  prospect 
of  a  sound  financial  basis  seemed  to  be  secure.  Unhap- 
pily for  this  prospect,  the  ravages  of  war  were  mainly 
in  the  northern  section  of  France,  where  many  of  the 
strongest  churches  were  located.  Within  a  very  few 
months,  many  churches  were  destroyed.  Their  pastors 
and  evangelists  were  serving  as  soldiers,  hospital  attend- 
ants and  chaplains,  unless  they  were  exiled  by  the  enemy 
or  held  as  hostages. 

The  annual  budgets  of  French  Protestant  churches  and 
home  missions  before  the  war  were  as  follows : 


148       FRE.NXH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM 

National    Union    of    Evangelical 

Reformed    Churches  fcs. 

Budget  voted  by  the  Synod  of  1914 1,539,563 

Theological  Faculty  of  J^Iontauban 81,850 

Preparatory    Theological    School    of    Bati- 

gnoles,  Paris    40,600 

Special  budgets  of  Churches 800,000       2,462,013 

National  Union  of  Reformed  Churches 

Central   Fund  before  the  War 200,000 

Special  budgets  of  Churches 450,000          650)000 

Theological  Faculty  of  Paris 99,530           99,530 

Lutheran  Evangelical  Churches 

Two     Central     Funds,     Paris-Algeria     and 

Montbeliard    200,000 

Special  budgets  of  Churches 155,000 

Mission  Interieure,  Paris  and  Montbeliard  45,000          400,000 

Union  of  Free  Evangelical  Churches 

Central  Fund  22,500 

Special  budgets  of  Churches 176,500 

Commission  of  Evangelization 51,500 

Commission  of  Education   1,200          251,700 

Union  of  Methodist  Churches 

Central  Fund   110,000 

Individual   Churches    100,000          210,000 

Baptist  Churches^ — (Northern  France  and  Belgium). 

Central  Fund   45,969.65 

Individual   Churches    51,161.35       97,131 

Independent  Churches 

Average  estimated  expense  105,212          105,212 

Central  Evangelical  Society 

Central  Fund   117,485 

Individual  posts  of  the  Society   412,955          530,440 

Popular  Evangelical  Mission  (McAll) 

Average  budget  of  Central  Fund  287,968 

Individual  budgets  of  three  posts'    45,000          332,968 

Grand  total   5,138,994 

($1,027,799) 

^  The  Baptist  churches  of  the  South  are  for  the  most  part 
supported  by  Baptist  churches  of  America. 

'  There  are  many  other  posts  some  costing  less,  others  more 
than  15,000  francs. 


FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM        149 

The  budget  of  the  Belgian  churches  up  to  1914  ap- 
pears to  have  been  as  follows: 

Union  des  Eglises  (State  Church)  fcs. 

Salaries  and  Church  expenses    (State  sub- 
sidies)            75,000 

Home  Missions  (not  subsidized)    28,000 

Benevolence  and  charitable  institutions  ....  103,400 

Schools,  Young  Men's  and  Young  Women's 

Associations    29,700 

Total    236,100      ($47,220) 

Belgian  Missionary  Church 

Salaries  and  Evangelistic  Work 238,000 

Benevolence  and  charitable  institutions  ....        60,000 

Total  298,000      ($59,600) 

Foreign  Missions  (both  Churches) 

Belgian  Protestant  Mission  in  Congo 20,200        ($4,040) 

Total    $110,860 


PARIS  EVANGELICAL  MISSIONARY  SOCIETY 
(Foreign  Missions) 

A.  Budget 

Before  the  Fiscal  year 
War  1917-18 
fcs.    cts.  fcs, 
1.    Overhead  expenses :  Direction,  admin- 
istration, education  of  future  work- 
ers, publications,  pension  fund   ....     165,958.80  123,013 

Basutoland    (Lessuto)    109,287.50  85,125 

Barotsiland   (Zambezia)     135,305.85  86,909 

Senegal    20,170  11,570 

Tahiti    33,047.55  24,000 

Gaboon   175,972.50  138,648 

Madagascar  279,500  243,200 

Mare   (Loyalty  Islands),  New  Caledonia      24,450  10,000 

Cameroon    50,000 

Unforeseen  expenses    17,207.80  25,535 

Total   960,900.00  798,000 

($192,180)  ($159,600) 


150       FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM 

B.  Sources  of  Income 

1913-14  1916-17 

fcs.    cts.  fcs.    cts. 

France  533,949.60  395.590.50 

Switzerland    179,549.03  180.595.46 

Great  Britain  24.997.60  102,689.20 

Alsace-Lorraine    100,418.60  1.193.25 

America    3,771.23  69,416.48 

Holland  11,088.66  9,414.00 

Italy   8,738.30  7,861.60 

Africa    6,252.15  4,139.10 

Denmark     1,190.51  1,109.85 

Belgium     3.217.91  226.50 

Germany,  Austria 4,262.62  100.00 

Russia,  Finland    809.50      

Sweden    846.75  52.25 

Asia    470.40  112.80 

Oceanica   250.00  250.00 

Total    879,812.86      772,750.99 

($175,962.57)    ($154,550.20) 

In  May,  1918,  the  society  reported  the  first  deficit 
since  the  outbreak  of  the  war — a  remarkable  showing. 
Partly  because  of  the  increased  expense  of  Hving,  and 
partly  because  of  the  destruction  by  the  war  of  a  number 
of  auxiliaries ;  partly  also  because  of  the  great  dimin- 
ishing of  gifts  from  Switzerland,  the  deficit  at  the  end 
of  April  amounted  to  158,000  francs.  Yet  during  this 
bitter  time,  contributions  from  the  departments  of  France 
had  increased  by  26,829.20  francs,  and  when  the  books 
were  closed  in  May  a  considerable  part  of  this  deficit 
was  removed.  The  balance  remains  a  heavy  burden 
upon  this  overburdened  but  heroic  society. 

General  Conditions  Due  to  War 

When  war  was  declared  every  social  standard  was 
affected,   health,   education,   conditions   of   life  and  of 


I^»'l. 


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t,mf: 

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p^ 


FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM        151 

labor,  relations  of  home  and  family.  Appalling  suffer- 
ing settled  down  upon  entire  populations.  Countless 
thousands  became  homeless.  Non-combatants  were  nurs- 
ing wounds  and  war  diseases.  Widows  and  orphans 
were  in  danger  of  starvation.  Before  the  war  was  two 
years  old,  one  hundred  and  sixty  Protestant  ministers  and 
their  sons  were  on  the  honor  roll  of  the  dead  of  France. 
Deaconesses,  nurses  and  women  volunteers  from  all 
circles  were  bearing  the  crushing  load.  Strong  churches 
were  stricken  down ;  congregations  worshipped  in  cellars 
and  did  the  impossible. 

In  1917,  one-third  of  all  the  ministers  of  religion  in 
France,  Roman  Catholic,  Protestant,  and  Jewish,  were 
in  the  field  or  had  already  been  killed.  The  number  of 
pastors  in  charge  of  Protestant  churches  and  home  mis- 
sions before  the  war  was  as  follows : 


National  Union  of  Evangelical  Reformed  Churches 
Pastors  in  active  service  in  the  second  quarter  of  1914  413 

Pastors   whose  posts   were   in   invaded   or   bombarded 
regions  32 

National  Union  of  Reformed  Churches 

Pastors  In  active  service 201 

Pastors   whose   posts   were   in   invaded   or   bombarded 
regions     13 

Lutheran  Evangelical  Churches      * 

Pastors  in  active  service   80 

Union  of  Free  Evangelical  Churches  of  France 

Pastors  in  active  service   45 

Union  of  Methodist  Churches 

Pastors  in  active  service   ..•.•• » 30 

Pastors   whose   posts   were   in   invaded   or   bombarded 
regions  3 

Methodist  Episcopal  Churches  of  France 

Pastors  in  active  service   5 


152       FRENXH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM 

Baptist  Churches 

Pastors  in  active  service  in  1918 11 

Pastors  in  invaded  or  bombarded  regions 7 

Central  Evangelical  Society 

Pastors  and  agents  in  active  service 76 

Pastors  and  agents   in   invaded  or  bombarded  regions     16 

Popular  Evangelical  Mission  (McAll)  of  France 

Pastors  and  agents  in  active  service   30 

Pastors  and  agents  in  invaded  or  bombarded  regions      4 

Belgian  Missionary  Church 

Pastors  and  agents  in  active  service 50 

Pastors  and  agents  in  invaded  regions 50 

Union  of  Evangelical  Protestant  Churches  of  Belgium 

Pastors  and  agents  in  active  service 38 

Pastors  and  agents  in  invaded  regions 38 

163    979 

In  February,  1918,  the  Paris  Evangelical  Missionary 
Society  (Foreign  Missions)  reported  the  following: 

Number  of  Missionaries : 

Married  men 75 

Widowers                  1 

Unmarried  men         4 

Married  women        75 

Unmarried  women    26 

Total  181 

Twenty  missionaries  and  thirty  student  candidates  were  mo- 
bilized, fifteen  were  reported  killed  or  missing  and  three  were 
made  prisoners. 

About  half  of  the  Protestant  pastors  and  nearly  all  of 
the  theological  students  were  mobilized  at  the  beginning 
of  the  war.  Nearly  a  hundred  of  them  have  given  their 
lives  to  their  country  on  the  field  of  battle.  The  mor- 
tality among  pastors'  and  missionaries'  sons  has  also  been 


FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM        153 

very  great.  More  than  150  of  them  died  for  France. 
When  we  read  their  letters,  as  they  have  from  time  to 
time  been  published,  we  can  appreciate  in  some  meas- 
ure what  France  has  lost.^ 

In  view  of  this  mortality,  the  question  of  recruiting 
the  pastorate  at  the  close  of  the  war  is  becoming  well- 
nigh  agonizing,  especially  in  view  of  the  fact  that  in  the 
eight  years  between  January  1,  1906  and  1914  the  pas- 
toral body  of  the  Reformed  Churches  was  reduced  by 
more  than  one-fifth,  largely  owing  to  the  financial  pres- 
sure caused  by  disestablishment.  Posts  were  put  down 
when  the  pastors  resigned  or  died;  others  were  merged 
with  nearby  churches. 

Wives  and  children  of  deported  Belgians  and  French- 
men, including  persons  of  rank,  fill  the  relief  stations. 
Three  Belgian  pastors  suffering  from  tuberculosis  were 
sent  to  Switzerland.  Children  have  been  separated  from 
their  mothers  in  their  frantic  flight  before  the  invader. 
The  half  of  what  France  and  Belgium  have  suffered  can 
never  be  told. 

The  following  note  from  the  General  Committee  of  the 
Union  of  Reformed  Churches,  one  of  the  several  church 
bodies,  describes  the  serious  situation  throughout  all  of 
the  Protestant  churches: 

Since  August,  1914,  one  half  of  the  220  pastors  of  the 
Union  have  been  mobilized  and  absent  from  their  parishes. 
In  spite  of  this  great  inroad  on  the  pastorate,  the  churches 
have  continued  to  be  served  in  a  satisfactory  manner.  Pastors 
who  were  left  in  their  positions  spontaneously  undertook  to 
supply  neighboring  parishes  deprived  of  their  leaders.  Retired 
pastors  resumed  active  service  and  replaced  a  certain  number 

*  Everyone  should  read  Professor  Allier's  little  pamphlet  Avec 
iios  ais  sous  la  Mitraille   (With  Our  Sons  Under  Fire). 


154       FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM 

of  their  mobilized  colleagues.  Devout  members  of  the  laity, 
men  and  women,  lent  their  aid  in  visitation  of  the  sick,  in  Sun- 
day and  Thursday  schools,  in  religious  instruction  and,  in  cer- 
tain cases,  in  the  reading  or  even  writing  of  sermons  for 
Sunday  services,  when  no  pastor  could  be  present. 

Among  these  devout  people  we  would  particularly  call  atten- 
tion to  a  great  number  of  pastors'  wives  who,  so  far  as  pos- 
sible, are  substituting  for  their  absent  husbands,  some  of  them 
reading  in  the  churches  sermons  composed  by  the  pastors,  now 
at  their  posts  as  hospital  workers  or  stretcher-bearers,  or  even 
as  combatants.  The  churches  of  Switzerland  repeatedly  loaned 
to  France,  for  weeks  at  a  time,  certain  of  their  pastors, 

A  number  of  pastors  were  made  prisoners.  Two  pastors  of 
our  Union  thus  far  have  paid  with  their  lives  for  their  devotion 
to  the   Fatherland,  having  fallen  on  the  field  of  honor,    .    .    . 

The  National  Union  of  Reformed  Churches  of  France  has 
thus  far  succeeded  in  maintaining  the  salaries  of  all  its  pastors, 
even  of  those  who  were  mobilized.  (Those  among  them  who 
received  a  salary  as  chaplain  or  officer  voluntarily  returned  at 
least  a  part  of  their  salary  to  their  church  treasuries,  to  the  aid 
of  our  severely  tried  finances.)  This  maintenance  of  salaries 
requires  great  sacrifices  and  causes  constant  anxiety  to  our 
Executive  Board.  .  .  .  The  high  cost  of  living  makes  the  pres- 
ent salaries  painfully  insufficient,  and  we  shall  soon  find  our- 
selves confronted  with  the  absolute  necessity  of  raising  at  least 
some  of  them.     Where  shall  the  necessary  funds  be  found? 

In  1915,  to  balance  the  budget,  which  amounted  to  more  than 
200,000  francs,  ($40,000),  it  became  necessary  to  borrow  25,000 
francs,  in  addition  to  a  special  gift  of  20,000  francs  made  by  a 
generous  friend.    For  1916,  a  still  greater  sum  was  borrowed. 

Many  ministers  and  evangelists  lost  practically  every- 
thing. The  follow^ing  briefly  tells  the  story  of  some  of 
those  pastors  who  are  reported  to  have  lost  all  their  be- 
longings in  the  war. 

In  September,  1914,  Pastor  G.  and  Mme.  G,  were  busy 
nursing  the  wounded  and  caring  for  their  parishioners  under 
a  heavy  shelling  of  the  town.     Incendiary  bombs   fell  on  the 


FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM        155 

church,  which  was  entirely  burned  with  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  build- 
ing and  the  manse.  Everything  was  lost,  not  only  the  furni- 
ture, but  also  every  book,  sermon  or  paper  Pastor  G.  had  in 
his  fine  study. 

The  last  letter  and  notes  written  by  a  young  pastor,  Lieu- 
tenant M.,  who  was  killed  near  Rheims,  were  destroyed  in 
the  same  fire.  In  the  war  Pastor  G.  lost  one  son,  who  was 
kept  a  prisoner  by  the  Germans  nearly  a  year  without  being 
allowed  to  send  word  that  he  was  alive. 

Pastor  G.  served  as  Chaplain  in  the  Armee  d'  Orient,  and  was 
awarded  the  Legion  of  Honor,  the  War  Cross,  and  the  Serbian 
Saint  Sava. 

Pastor  J.  was  mobihzed  and  ordered  to  the  Front  in  the 
East  at  the  very  beginning  of  the  war.  His  wife  was  left  with 
five  children  and  with  Germans  billeted  in  her  home.  On  ac- 
count of  her  children,  she  was  later  sent  back  to  unoccupied 
France  via  Switzerland,  without  being  allowed  to  carry  with 
her  more  than  a  few  hand  bags.  When  the  town  was  evacu- 
ated in  March,  1917,  everything  in  the  house  was  removed  and 
scattered,  no  one  knows  where.  Pastor  J.  lost  his  entire  library, 
with  a  very  large  number  of  sermons,  essays  and  other  notes, 
carefully  written  and  kept  on  file, — the  result  of  his  work  and 
ministry  during  twenty  years. 

Pastor  K.  was  in  charge  of  his  church  during  the  German 
occupation.  He  rendered  invaluable  services  to  his  flock  by 
his  patience,  his  coolness  and  his  knowledge  of  the  German 
language.  He  was  more  than  once  summoned  before  the  mili- 
tary authorities  and  threatened  with  arrest.  When  the  town 
was  evacuated,  he  gathered  around  him  the  remnants  of  his 
flock  and  read  with  them  the  sad  words,  "Father,  the  hour  has 
come."  For  more  than  two  years  and  a  half  he  was  separated 
from  his  wife,  who,  when  the  war  broke  out,  was  in  the  south 
of  France  on  account  of  her  health.  They  were  newly  married 
and  were  keeping  their  well-ordered  home,  which  contained 
gifts  and  other  beautiful  things,  in  the  hope  of  a  happy  reunion. 
When  Pastor  K.  left  his  home  to  be  sent  into  Belgium,  he 
could  see  the  motor  van  at  the  corner  of  the  street  ready  to 
carry  off  everything  his  home  contained. 


!56       FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM 

Pastor  D.  was  in  charge  of  a  church  in  the  village  of  H., 
when  he  was  mobilized  at  the  outbreak  of  the  war.  When 
the  Germans  began  their  retreat,  as  a  result  of  the  battle  of 
the  Somme,  the  entire  village  was  levelled  and  the  church  and 
the  manse  were  blown  up  with  dynamite.  A  few  walls  only 
remain,  as  shown  by  a  photograph  taken  by  a  British  officer.  In 
the  neighboring  village  of  T,,  the  church  and  the  manse  were 
destroyed  in  the  same  way. 

The  pretty  village  of  J.  with  its  shady  trees  and  lovely  gardens 
was  leveled  or  blown  up.  The  church  and  the  manse  were 
destroyed.  Pastor  G.,  who  was  from  Switzerland,  was  evicted 
and  forced  to  return  to  that  country  with  scanty  luggage;  he 
is  still,  notwithstanding  his  age,  ministering  to  the  churches  of 
the  mining  district  in  the  south  of  France. 

The  little  village  of  N.,  with  its  old  farms  and  spinning- 
mills,  was  unfortunately  situated  in  the  region  of  the  Hinden- 
burg  Line,  where  everything  was  destroyed.  The  pastor's  wife, 
Mme.  C.,  was  permitted  to  return  to  France  with  her  children; 
but  Pastor  C.  was  detained  as  a  civil  prisoner. 

The  miners  of  the  well-known  town  of  Lievin  had  formed 
a  church,  for  which  the  work  of  two  pastors  was  needed.  One 
of  them,  M.  A.,  left  upon  mobilization,  the  other  one,  M.  L., 
from  Geneva  (Switzerland)  remained.  The  town  was  caught 
in  the  firing  line,  and  shelled  by  the  French  on  account  of  the 
German  batteries  hidden  in  the  gardens  and  in  the  houses.  The 
manse,  which  was  occupied  by  a  German  officer,  was  destroyed 
with  the  church.  A  mission  hall  and  a  temperance  club  belong- 
ing to  the  church  were  also  ruined.  Pastor  L.,  notwithstand- 
ing his  nationality,  was  forced  to  leave. 

Belgian  Protestant  churches  and  mission  stations  vvere 
in  the  line  of  the  German  advance.  All  the  Belgian 
pastors  and  evangelists  who  were  not  mobilized  or  serv- 
ing as  chaplains  remained  at  the  post  of  duty  and  danger, 
many  with  wife  and  children.^      In  Verviers,  the  first 

^  In  July,  1918,  a  Belgian  pastor  wrote,  "With  our  small  salaries 
life  is  becoming  exceedingly  hard,  and  how  much  poverty  around 


FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM       157 

city  invaded  by  the  German  armies,  there  are  two  im- 
portant congregations  of  the  Belgian  Missionary  Church. 
Liege  is  one  of  its  principal  centers  of  evangelistic  work, 
with  the  industrial  districts  of  Namur,  Charleroi,  Mons.^ 
Complete  information  regarding  the  destruction  of 
churches  is  not  yet  available.  At  the  close  of  the  war 
it  was  reported  that  the  number  of  French  Protestant 
churches  and  other  places  of  worship  damaged  or  totally 
destroyed  in  the  invaded  or  bombarded  regions  was  131 ; 
the  manses  18.  At  that  time  the  fate  of  a  number  of 
churches  was  unknown, 

PROTESTANT  CHURCHES.  PLACES  OF  WORSHIP  AND 
MISSION  HALLS 

Reported  Destroyed  or  Damaged  During  the  War 

(Latest  available  information) 

Estimated 

Loss  in 

francs 

Metseral  (Alsace)    Church  greatly  damaged 30,000 

Thann  **       Church  damaged 

Nancy  Methodist  Chapel  damaged  by- 
bomb,  October,  1914— Re- 
formed Church  and  Manse 
damaged  by  380  mm.  shells     200,000 

Verdun    Church  bombarded 40,000 

Rheims  Church,   Manse,   Y.   M.   C.   A. 

building    hit    by    shells    and 
destroyed  by  fire,  September, 

1914 500,000 

Protestant  School    50,000 

us  we  should  love  to  help !  A  suit  of  clothing  costs  $100,  a 
cotton  umbrella  $30,  a  pound  of  meat  $3,  a  pound  of  butter  $4, 
a  single  egg  30  cents !" 

^  Among  well  known  Flemish  cities  occupied  by  Protestant 
churches  may  be  mentioned:  Louvain,  Maline,  (Mechlin),  Alest, 
Antwerp,  Ghent,  Bruges,  Ostend,  Roulers,  Courtrai,  Menin,  etc. 
A  curious  effect  of  German  occupation  has  been  the  establish- 
ment of  French  services  in  Antwerp,  where  there  used  to  be 
two  important  German  churches. 


158       FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM 

Solssons     Church  destroyed  by  shells  on 

Christmas  Eve.  1915   20,000 

Chauny Baptist  Church  greatly  damaged       20,000 

Tergnier  (Aisne)   Mission  Hall  and  Evangelist's 

lodgings  destroyed 10,000 

Templeux  Le  Gucrard 

(Somme)     Church   and   Manse   destroyed       70,000 

Nauroy   (Aisne)    Church    and    Manse    destroyed       70,000 

Jeancourt  (Aisne)    Church   and    Manse    destroyed       70,000 

Hargicourt    Church,     Y.     M.     C.     A.,     and 

Manse  destroyed 100,000 

Saint  Quentin   Large   Church   built   1615,  and 

other      buildings,      including 

McAll  Mission,  destroyed...      200,000 

Pommery Old    age    Asylum    and    Castle, 

serving  as   a  house  of   rest, 
property  of  Reformed  Church 
in    St.    Quentin    destroyed..        60,000 
Lens    Baptist  Church  destroyed,  Re- 
formed   Church   and    Manse 

destroyed     46,000 

Lievin     Reformed  Church,  Manse  and 

Hall  destroyed    48,000 

VaHncourt  Church    occupied    by    German 

troops    who    burned    pulpit 

and  other  fixtures 20,000 

Douai   Church  damaged  by  explosion 

early  in   1915 

Lille    Church    and    Manse    damaged 

by    explosion    early   in    1915, 

Epernay  Church  greatly  damaged   15,000 

Troissy Church  greatly  damaged  30,000 

Monneaux Church  greatly  damaged   30,000 

Compiegne    Church  greatly  damaged   20,000 

Fresnoy    Church  greatly  damaged   20,000 

Laon   (Aisne)    Church  damaged    5,000 

Henin  Lietard    Church,     Manse    and    Y.     M. 

C.  A.  Hall  damaged  11,500 

Aniche  (Nord)    Church  damaged    2,500 

Sin  Le  Noble  (Nord) .  .Church,   Manse,   Y.   M.   C.  A. 

Hall    11,000 

Saint  Just  En 

Chaussee   (Oise)     Church  and  Manse  damaged..       50,000 

Dorignies   (Nord)    Church 15,000 

Tourcoing    (Nord)    Church  and  Manse   50,000 

Maubeuge   (Nord)     . . .  .Church  30,000 

Total    1,844,000 


FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM        159 

That  the  tone  of  the  population  was  not  lowered  by 
four  years  of  agonies  like  these  there  are  countless 
proofs.  In  Paris  during  the  long  weeks  and  months  of 
the  great  offensive  of  1918,  while  the  city  endured  the 
long  range  bombardment,  the  morale  of  the  people  never 
flinched.  The  local  section  of  the  Protestant  Relief  Com- 
mittee was  even  more  active  in  sending  parcels  of  cloth- 
ing to  refugees  from  the  invaded  towns  and  villages. 

In  other  cities,  which  were  long  under  bombardment, 
the  anxieties  and  sufferings  of  the  pastors  and  their 
people,  in  addition  to  their  losses,  were  very  great.  Since 
the  early  days  of  the  war  Nancy  had  been  under  bom- 
bardment, with  varying  degrees  of  violence.  When  the 
great  offensive  of  March,  1916,  began,  the  bombardment 
became  more  intense.  In  April  the  Protestant  church 
and  manse,  badly  damaged  in  1915  but  repaired  with  the 
help  of  gifts  from  the  French  Relief  Committee,  were 
again  injured  and  two  members  of  the  church  were 
killed.  In  1918  the  bombardment  again  became  terrific, 
surpassing  anything  previously  known.  Church  and 
manse  were  again  seriously  damaged  by  a  torpedo  that 
fell  in  the  manse  garden.  During  all  these  bombardments 
seventeen  were  killed  and  a  large  number  wounded. 

The  Protestants  in  the  Belgian  army  were  lost  among 
the  Roman  Catholics,  who  alone  had  chaplains.  A  young 
Belgian  pastor,  P.  Blommaert,  mobilized  as  a  stretcher- 
bearer,  made  many  efforts  to  induce  the  military  authori- 
ties to  recognize  the  right  of  Protestant  soldiers  to  have 
a  chaplain  of  their  own,  and  was  himself  nominated  as 
such.  He  sought  out  his  fellow  Protestants,  found  about 
three  hundred  at  first,  and  eventually  found  that  there 
were  more  than  four  thousand.     In  the  course  of  time 


160       FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM 

he  succeeded  in  effecting  the  nomination  of  ten  Protes- 
tant chaplains,  six  for  the  army  in  the  field  and  four  for 
the  hospitals,  where  there  are  or  have  been  about  2,500 
sick  or  wounded  Protestants.  Protestant  chaplains  at  the 
front  reported  a  wonderful  spiritual  awakening  among 
the  Belgian  soldiers:  "Now  you  can  speak  of  Christ," 
wrote  a  chaplain,  to  ''anybody,  anywhere,  on  any  occa- 
sion." They  created  two  Foyers  dii  Soldat  (soldiers' 
huts)  ;  they  published  a  paper  Sons  le  Drapcau  ("With 
the  Colours")  of  which  3,500  copies  were  circulated,  and 
distributed  Bibles  and  Scripture  portions.  One  chaplain 
died  in  1916. 

Many  Belgian  refugees  in  foreign  countries  have  for 
the  first  time  come  into  touch  with  evangelical  Chris- 
tianity. In  England  and  Scotland  special  services  were 
organized  for  them;  many  joined  the  EngHsh  churches 
and  sent  their  children  to  the  Sunday  Schools.  In 
refugee  camps  in  Holland,  the  S octet e  Evangelique  de 
Geyieve  carried  on  a  very  successful  evangelistic  work. 


Organizations  for  War  Relief 
Comite  Protestant  d'eiit/Aide  pour  les  Regions  envakies. 

Of  all  the  societies  formed  by  the  French  Protestants 
on  account  of  the  war,  the  Relief  Committee  for  the 
invaded  regions  of  France  and  Belgium  has  the  greatest 
number  of  members  and  the  largest  sphere  of  work. 

Its  purposes  are:  1. — To  provide  for  Protestant  fami- 
lies suffering  from  the  German  occupation  of  the  north- 
ern and  eastern  provinces,  such  material  and  moral  succor 
that,  the  enemy  once  repelled,  no  time  may  be  lost  in 


FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM        161 

rebuilding  houses  and  churches.  2. — To  perform  this 
brotherly  act  in  the  name  of  the  United  French  Protes- 
tant Churches. 

The  honorary  and  executive  committees  of  this  so- 
ciety include  official  representatives  of  all  Protestant 
churches,  commissions  of  inquiry  and  distribution  be- 
ing similarly  formed.  It  is  their  duty  to  estimate  and 
state  the  damage  done  and  to  control  the  distribution  of 
gifts  of  all  kinds  collected  by  the  committee. 

The  invaded  territory  was  divided  into  five  districts, 
including  Belgium  and  Alsace.  Regional  and  local  or- 
ganizations have  begun  to  work  everywhere.  Fifty-one 
committees  were  active  when  the  armistice  was  declared ; 
hundreds  of  women  in  sixty-three  workrooms  were  pre- 
paring all  things  necessary  in  the  way  of  linen,  clothing 
and  furniture,  and  storing  them  in  Paris. 

Appeals  for  the  support  of  the  French  Protestants 
were  made  widely  in  France,  as  well  as  among  the 
Protestants  of  Great  Britain,  the  Netherlands,  Switzer- 
land, and  the  United  States  of  America.  The  Dean  of 
St.  PauFs  took  the  presidency  of  the  London  Committee, 
and  collected  large  subscriptions.  In  the  Netherlands, 
all  the  provinces  joined  in  this  Christian  work;  in  Switz- 
erland, a  group  of  pastors  and  laymen  was  formed.  The 
United  States  received  delegates  with  marked  favor, 
the  Federal  Council  answering  the  appeal  of  the  French 
Relief  Committee  by  forming  the  Committee  for  Chris- 
tian Relief  in  France  and  Belgium. 

Practical  work  began  the  day  after  the  victory  of  the 
Marne  (1915),  in  one  of  the  most  ancient  communities 
of  France,  Heiltz  le  Maurupt.  Later  came  work  in  the 
district  regained  by  the  French  troops,  in  1917,  between 


162       FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM 

Soissons  and  Chauny.  But  in  one  part  of  that  district, 
the  devastated  country  to  the  north  between  Arras 
and  St.  Quentin  again  came  under  bombardment,  and 
the  work  of  reconstruction  was  perforce  suspended.  The 
Committee  devoted  its  energies  to  giving  help  to  the 
repatriated,  almost  all  of  them  old  persons  whom  Ger- 
many, unable  to  feed,  sent  back  through  Switzerland. 
For  this  purpose  a  special  section  of  "Emergency  Relief" 
was  formed,  with  a  permanent  station  at  Evian,  Ameri- 
can girls  and  women  lending  effective  help  in  this  mission. 
The  refugees  are  sent  as  soon  as  possible  to  Protestant 
centers,  recommended  to  local  committees  and  churches, 
who  will  keep  in  touch  with  them,  so  that  when  peace 
comes  they  may  be  sent  back  to  their  homes,  where  the 
brotherly  work  of  this  Committee  will  be  continued. 

Mission  Popiilaire  Evangelique  de  France  {Mac All). 

Within  a  week  after  the  order  for  mobilization  the 
Director  of  the  McAll  Mission,  Rev.  Henri  Guex  opened, 
in  six  of  the  halls  best  situated  for  the  purpose,  work 
rooms  equipped  with  sewing  machines  and  a  canteen, 
where  women  might  work  half  a  day  at  the  usual  half- 
day's  wage,  might  procure  at  minimum  cost  nourishing 
meals  to  be  eaten  on  the  premises  or  carried  home,  and 
might  at  their  option  remain  for  the  brief  five  o'clock 
rehgious  service.  Even  after  the  readjustment  of  indus- 
tries these  ouvroirs  have  proved  to  be  a  godsend  to 
mothers  who  may  not  absent  themselves  from  their  chil- 
dren for  an  entire  day,  and  to  women  of  infirm  health. 

From  Paris  boxes  were  sent  to  the  soldiers  at  the  front 
and  in   German  prison  camps,   many  American   "god- 


FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM        163 

mothers"  helping  in  this  work.  The  Nantes  Fraternity- 
was  requisitioned  by  the  government  as  a  temporary  hos- 
pital, and  its  leader,  M.  Chastand,  put  in  command.  On 
its  restoration  to  the  Mission,  M.  Chastand  organized  it 
as  a  training  school  for  mutilated  men.  This  proved  such 
a  success  that  the  municipality  and  the  state  provided 
500,000  francs  to  remodel  and  equip  a  large  factory  for 
the  purpose,  with  M.  Chastand  still  as  director.  Three 
hundred  mutilated  m.en  of  all  the  allied  nations  had  been 
trained  in  this  school  by  the  end  of  1917. 

Uniting  scattered  families  is  an  important  relief  work 
of  the  Mission,  carried  on  by  Mile.  Julie  Merle  d'Aubigne 
and  a  staff  of  volunteer  workers.  The  war  orphan 
work  differs  in  one  important  respect  from  that  of  any- 
other  organization  caring  for  "fatherless  children"  in  that 
it  cares  also  for  children  whose  fathers  died  not  in  active 
service  but  of  diseases  contracted  during  the  service,  or 
who  are  still  living  but  are  incapacitated  for  work  by- 
reason  of  mutilation  or  disease.  Of  all  the  war-stricken 
families  these  are  the  most  pitiable  and  there  are  many 
hundreds  of  such.  The  war  orphan  work  was  planned 
also  to  give  spiritual  succor  to  widowed  mothers,  the 
girls  in  young  people's  societies  in  many  churches  being 
organized  to  keep  in  personal  touch  with  every  mother 
of  a  fatherless  child.  Twelve  hundred  such  children 
have  been  "adopted"  in  the  United  States. 

The  mobilization  of  spiritual  forces  kept  pace  with  the 
mobilization  of  the  humanity  of  France.  Special  meet- 
ings were  at  once  organized  for  working  women,  for 
soldiers  on  leave,  for  colonials  at  their  ports  of  entry. 
The  mothers'  meetings  became  a  source  of  peculiar  spiri- 
tual blessing  to  the  bereaved  and  the  suffering. 


164       FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM 

Societe  Centrale  Evangeliqiie. 

The  Central  Evangelical  Society  had  been  without  news 
of  its  stations  in  the  north  and  the  Pas  de  Calais,  until 
Pastor  Jean  Monnier,  returning  from  two  and  a  half 
years  of  work  in  the  mining  district  (not  till  then  had 
he  received  permission  to  return  to  territory  "not  yet 
invaded")  brought  word  that  the  morale  in  the  stations 
he  had  been  serving  was  good.  The  Society  has  gath- 
ered and  given  to  refugees  many  thousands  of  pieces  of 
clothing.  It  sent  out  daily  "munitions"  for  the  front  in 
the  form  of  New  Testaments^  Gospels,  "Soldiers'  Prayer 
Books,"  tracts  and  leaflets.  It  published  annually  an  illus- 
trated Calendar  for  Prisoners  of  War,  containing  Scrip- 
ture passages  and  words  of  sympathy  and  comfort,  which 
was  freely  distributed  in  the  German  prison  camps 
through  the  International  Committee  of  the  Young  Men's 
Christian  Association  in  Geneva,  Switzerland. 


VI 


THE  FUTURE  TASK  OF  FRENCH 
PROTESTANTISM 

Now,  as  in  1536  when  Calvin  wrote  a  dedicatory  epistle 
to  King  Francis  I  by  way  of  preface  to  his  Christian 
Institutes,  there  are  "many  French  people  hungry  and 
athirst  for  Jesus  Christ,  and  few  who  have  a  right 
knowledge  of  him."  To  give  France  this  knowledge  is 
the  task  of  French  Protestantism  for  the  future  as  it 
was  in  the  sixteenth  century;  and  after  the  war.  Prot- 
estantism in  France  will  keep  true  to  this  program.  Five 
phases  of  this  task  stand  out  prominently : 

1.  Its  duty  will  be  to  reveal  to  the  French  people  the 
existence  and  the  principles  of  Protestantism. 

2.  The  emphasis  must  be  placed  not  on  making  France 
Protestant  but  on  making  France  Christian. 

3.  In  accordance  with  the  slogan  "Reform  the  Ref- 
ormation," French  Protestantism  must  be  faithful  not 
only  to  the  Past  but  to  the  Future. 

4.  While  remaining  centers  of  worship,  the  Protestant 
churches  of  France  will  be  called  resolutely  to  ascertain 
their  position  with  regard  to  moral  and  social  activities. 

5.  French  Protestantism  will  then  be  in  harmony  with 
the  culture  and  scientific  method  of  the  modern  world, 
with  the  moral  and  social  ambitions  of  our  generation, 
with  its  thirst  for  justice,  peace  and  fraternity. 

165 


166       FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM 

The  duty  of  making  Protestantism  manifest  to  France 
was  not  first  revealed  by  the  war.  In  1913,  Congresses 
of  Workers  in  Evangelization  were  held  in  Paris 
and  in  Saint  Jean  du  Gard, — the  metropolis  of  Cevenol 
Protestantism, — delegates  from  the  Reformed  and  Free 
Churches,  the  McAll  Mission,  and  the  Salvation  Army 
fraternizing,  and  with  a  large  local  attendance.  In 
October,  1914,  the  leading  Protestant  paper  did  indeed 
express  its  fears  that  France  was  religiously  on  the  edge 
of  a  precipice ;  but  the  Avar  has  changed  that  feeling,  and 
there  are  none  now  to  doubt  the  character  or  the  im- 
portance of  the  future  task  of  French  Protestantism. 

The  anti-religious  campaign  of  the  early  part  of  the 
present  century,  carried  on  as  a  patriotic  duty  by  French 
atheists  and  radical  free-thinkers,  who  attributed  to  the 
Church  of  Rome  (the  only  religion  they  knew)  the  dis- 
grace of  the  Dreyfus  affair  and  other  errors  and  scandals 
which  had  lowered  their  country  in  the  esteem  of  the 
world,  was  viewed  with  such  seriousness  by  Protestant 
pastors,  that  the  various  church  organizations.  Reformed, 
Free,  Methodist  and  Baptist,  in  1908  undertook  a  deter- 
mined effort  to  oppose  and  arrest  it.  To  this  end  they 
released  from  duty  several  of  their  most  gifted  preachers 
and  lecturers,  proposing  by  their  means  to  rekindle  in  the 
old  Protestant  Churches  the  flame  of  religious  life,  and 
set  those  churches  to  work  in  their  immediate  neighbor- 
hood. Thus,  better  than  by  any  other  means,  would  the 
unevangelized  masses  learn  that  Christianity  was  some- 
thing more  and  other  than  the  religion  taught  by  Rome, 
and  so  the  people  be  won  to  faith  in  Christ. 

It  was  during  this  period  that  a  distinguished  Catholic 
prelate  wrote: 


FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM        167 

"France  is  no  longer  Catholic.  There  are  in  France 
a  few  thousands  of  pious  souls,  other  thousands  having 
habits  of  worship,  but  the  mass  of  the  people  are  ir- 
religious. They  are  detached,  and  forever,  from  Ca- 
tholicism. There  is  no  hope  of  a  conquest  of  the 
French  people  by  Rome." 

The  field  was  therefore  open  to  Protestant  effort,  and 
though  the  war  has  undoubtedly  revived  the  spirit  of 
religion  in  circles  still  Catholic,  and  has  brought  back  to 
that  church  some  who  were  detached  from  it,  the  modem 
spirit  is  so  aloof  from  the  reactionary  methods  of  Rome 
that  the  field  is  the  more  hopeful  for  Protestant  effort, 
as  the  hearts  of  the  people  have  become  more  serious  and 
more  keenly  alive  to  religious  needs. 

Those  qualities  of  the  French  soul  which  have  so 
amazed  the  world  as  they  have  been  revealed  through 
the  exigencies  of  war,  kindling  to  admiration  nations 
that  had  before  held  France  in  relatively  small  esteem, 
did  not  spring  out  of  the  ground  with  the  invasion  of 
Belgium  or  the  declaration  of  war.  They  were  integral 
in  the  French  character,  the  result  of  millenniums  of 
discipline  and  of  high  ideals.  It  was  not  the  war  which 
awoke  French  Protestants  to  consider  with  prayerful 
solicitude  their  duty  to  France  and  to  the  world.  For  a 
century,  amid  disabilities  of  all  kinds,  they  had  been 
studying  how  to  perform  that  duty.  Circumstances  had 
grievously  restricted  them,  but  the  flame  was  always 
burning,  and  since  the  liberating  act  of  1905,  making 
the  churches  free  of  State  interference  and  patron- 
age, this  question  had  profoundly  stirred  the  con- 
sciences of  pastors  and  people,  and  especially  of  the 
young. 


168       FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM 

Between  1898  and  1914,  Protestant  students  had  been 
learning  from  Emerson  and  Roosevelt,  as  well  as  from 
the  Catholic,  Maurice  Barres,  and  the  Protestant,  Gaston 
Riou,  the  meaning  and  value  of  heroism,  of  the  sacrificial 
life,  and  had  come  to  realize  the  connection  between 
existing  realities  and  the  divine  life.  Many  social  and 
intellectual  works  initiated  by  young  Frenchmen,  Cath- 
olic and  Protestant,  were  inspired  by  a  genuine  religious 
preoccupation.  The  heart  of  France  was  turned  tovvard 
faith.  An  inquiry  undertaken  by  the  Reformed  churches 
in  1912  and  1913  revealed  in  the  entire  French  popula- 
tion **a  sort  of  religious  disquietude,"  that  promised  to 
open  the  way  to  God.  In  1912,  Gaston  Riou  published 
in  La  Revue  a  "Letter  to  Young  France"  in  which, 
though  little  dreaming  of  the  approaching  calamity,  he 
warned  his  readers  that  the  next  ten  years  would  be 
decisive.  The  national  soul,  driven  to  scepticism  by  the 
refusal  of  the  Church  of  Rome  to  recognize  the  modern 
spirit  and  the  acquisitions  of  science,  had  failed  to  be 
true  to  the  spirit  of  France.  Patriotically,  politically  and 
religiously  it  had  mistaken  its  way,  and  the  religious  mis- 
understanding was  at  the  root  of  the  patriotic  and  politi- 
cal mistake.  But  now  scepticism  had  been  weighed  and 
found  wanting,  a  universal  cry  for  a  religion  had  gone 
up.  And  a  true  religion  would  rectify  the  patriotic  and 
political  errors.  "We,  the  young  men  of  France,"  he 
wrote,  "are  as  sure  of  our  mission  in  France  as  of  the 
mission  of  France  to  the  world,  and  we  will  fulfil  it 
unto  the  uttermost,  unto  death.  We  have  consecrated 
ourselves  to  France,  and  by  that  act  we  have  given  our- 
selves to  God  and  to  men.  We  have  sworn  never  to 
despair  of  our  country.   .    .    .  The  day  will  come  when 


FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM       169 

all  France  will  be  Young  France.  The  new  civilization 
will  come  to  life  through  our  life,  through  the  very  life 
of  France." 

Prophetic  words,  of  which  the  writer  only  partly 
dreamed  the  import !  The  events  of  the  last  four  years 
have  fulfilled  them,  revealing  to  the  world  not  only  the 
task  of  France  but  the  essential  fitness  of  France  to 
perform  the  task. 

It  is  impossible  to  study  that  task  without  being  moved 
by  the  thought  of  how  this  great  war  has  been  turned 
to  further  the  providential  plan  of  God.  The  Protestant 
population  of  France  was  so  small  and  so  scattered,  that 
notwithstanding  its  large  proportion  of  men  and  women 
of  culture  and  influence,  its  task  was  always  confronted 
with  difficulties,  and  at  the  outbreak  of  the  war  these 
were  greatly  enhanced  by  the  odium  reflected  upon  them 
by  the  fact  that  Germany  was  Protestant  and  Protestant- 
ism the  religion  of  the  Kaiser.  All  this  is  now  changed. 
Young  Protestants  have  notably  distinguished  themselves 
in  the  war;  Protestants  in  general  have  won  approval 
by  the  faithfulness  with  which  they  have  observed  the 
Sacred  Union;  and  the  fact  that  Great  Britain  and  the 
United  States  are  Protestant  nations  has  great  weight. 
A  representative  of  the  American  churches,  visiting 
France  in  1916,  was  deeply  impressed  by  the  work  and 
the  influence  of  Protestantism  in  France,  conversation 
with  the  then  Premier  Briand  and  M.  Ribot,  then  Min- 
ister of  Finance,  convincing  him  that  the  Protestant 
forces  were  held  in  the  highest  esteem  by  the  govern- 
ment. 

Thus  the  first  phase  in  its  task  has  been  facilitated  by 
the  war.     'The  existence  of  Protestantism  and  its  prin- 


170       FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM 

ciples"  have  been  revealed  "to  the  French  people"  so  far 
as  the  government  and  the  leading  classes  are  concerned. 
But  in  all  the  remoter  parts  of  the  country,  where  Prot- 
estants are  few  or  entirely  wanting,  the  task  still  remains 
a  large  one.  The  peasantry  of  the  rural  districts  are 
still,  though  enthusiastically  patriotic,  religiously  an  ig- 
norant people,  those  who  are  Catholics  being  almost  fetich 
worshippers,  and  those  who  have  rejected  the  Church 
being  unaware  of  any  other  form  of  Christianity.  A 
missionary  from  the  Congo  wrote  in  1908 : 

"My  experience  of  evangelization  in  France  is  that  it 
is  far  easier  to  preach  the  Gospel  in  heathen  Congo  than 
here.  The  black  man  is  generally  predisposed  to  hear  the 
Word  which  tells  of  the  other  world,  and  he  gives  himself 
gladly  to  his  Lord.  The  heathen  of  France  are  much  less 
open  to  religion,  which  they  distrust  and  generally  ridi* 
cule." 

Yet  this  missionary  is  deeply  impressed  with  the 
thought  that  a  great  work  is  open  to  Protestants.  "  To 
represent  in  France  spiritual  religion,  a  high  standard  of 
morality,  a  free  and  at  the  same  time  a  devout  research 
in  all  questions  pertaining  to  religion  and  the  higher 
nature  of  man, — this,  we  believe,  is  our  duty,  and  we  will 
endeavor  to  fulfil  it." 

Among  the  peasantry  there  is  therefore  an  immense 
work  to  be  done — and  only  Protestants  can  do  it.  There 
is  also  an  immense  work  to  be  done  among  the  laboring 
class,  ten  years  ago  almost  entirely  materialistic  and 
atheistic,  but,  through  the  influence  of  the  war,  recover- 
ing the  idealism  which  is  so  characteristically  French 
and  the  thirst  for  spiritual  truth  which  has  now  become 
universal.      They  will  never  return  to  the  Church  of 


FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM        171 

Rome;  they  know  nothing  of  Protestantism,  they  need 
that  it  shall  be  made  "manifest"  to  them. 

Perhaps  only  those  who  thoroughly  understand  France 
will  recognize  the  force  of  the  second  proposition:  that 
the  future  task  must  not  have  as  its  chief  purpose  "to 
Protestantize  France."  If,  as  a  brilliant  French  evan- 
gelist, a  Christian  Jew,  has  pointed  out,  "the  work  of 
historic  origins  is  as  important  to  France  as  the  work 
of  evangelization,"  it  is  still  more  important  to  us  Ameri- 
cans who  long  to  help  French  Protestantism  in  her 
"future  task."  We  need  to  know  Huguenot  history  and 
the  history  of  the  relations  of  the  churches  to  the  State 
since  1802,  and  to  one  another  since  1906,  in  order  fully 
to  enter  into  sympathy  with  French  Protestants  in  their 
task.  Religion  is  now,  as  it  never  was  before,  the  matter 
of  chief  concern,  from  the  great  industrial  centers  to 
the  smallest  hamlets  of  France;  but  the  question  of 
Church  and  of  creed  is  not  the  chief  element  in  that 
concern.  The  thirst  for  the  divine,  now  importunate 
in  France,  is  a  thirst  for  Him  whom  Catholic  and  Prot- 
estant churches  alike  put  in  the  foreground  of  their 
teaching,  yet  whom  both,  by  different  methods  and  in 
different  ways,  have  veiled  from  the  popular  view.  In 
no  previous  time  and  place  was  the  word  of  the  Master 
more  true  than  now:  "I,  if  I  be  lifted  up,  will  draw  all 
men  unto  me."  The  task  of  the  future  for  French 
Protestants  is  to  lift  up  Jesus  Christ,  with  the  sole  pur- 
pose of  "making  Jesus  King,"  and  of  meeting  the  need 
of  France,  with  no  thought  of  the  aggrandizement  of 
their  own  church,  except  as  Protestantism  itself  be- 
comes, through  this  self-sacrifice,  what  it  has  already 
been  called,  "the  religion  of  modern  times." 


172       FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM 

What  Europe  needs  is  not  the  theory  but  the  practice 
of  the  incarnated  life  of  God.  This  is  the  problem  which 
the  war  has  imposed  upon  France :  to  bring  the  evangeli- 
cal ideal  into  society,  into  institutions  and  laws.  France 
will  work  out  the  problem  with  intense  ardor;  first,  be- 
cause she  urgently  needs  moral  renovation;  and  then 
because  noblesse  oblige:  she  owes  it  to  herself  to  be  still 
the  advance  guard  in  the  domain  of  thought. 

French  Protestants  therefore  must  make  their  churches 
centers  of  moral  and  social  activity  as  well  as  of  worship, 
which  is  in  itself  a  social  act.  As  has  been  seen,  the 
churches  were  working  toward  this  end  for  sixteen  years 
before  the  war.  With  the  experiences  of  the  war,  they 
will  have  been  fitted  in  a  superlative  degree  for  the  task. 
Already  they  have  learned  to  group  their  social  activities 
around  their  churches.  The  social  settlements,  with  Asso- 
ciated Charities  and  other  forms  of  social  service,  v/hich 
in  England  and  America  are  scrupulously  kept  aloof  from 
the  churches,  have  in  France  from  the  first  been  func- 
tions of  individual  churches.  Even  the  Young  Men's  and 
Young  Women's  Christian  Associations,  which  are  dis- 
tinct from  the  churches  in  other  countries,  are  in  France 
allied  with  them.  Each  church  has  its  Young  Men's 
Union,  its  Young  Girls'  Union,  usually  its  Blue  Cross 
(temperance)  and  White  Star  (purity)  Societies,  fre- 
quently its  Boy  Scout  troop,  all  integral  parts  at  once 
of  the  individual  church  and  of  the  National  Society. 
The  next  step  is  the  short  but  difficult  one  of  making  this 
tendency  the  universal  practice,  exemplifying  in  the  life 
and  acts  of  each  church  the  spirit  of  the  Saviour  who  had 
compassion  upon  the  multitude  and  fed  them  and  healed 
their  sick. 


FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM       173 

As  early  as  1883,  the  gifted  pastor,  Tomy  Fallot,  de- 
clared: "We  are  witnessing  the  painful  birth  of  secular 
society.  While  it  feels  that  it  must  triumph  at  any  cost, 
it  feels  also  the  need  of  a  higher  principle,  an  idea  of 
life  which  renders  men  capable  of  much  faith,  much 
love,  much  patience  and  self-denial:  it  needs  a  religion. 
Our  generation  is  afraid  of  the  word,  but  it  longs  for 
the  thing.  My  free-thinkine:  friends  have  said  to  me: 
*Give  us  a  religious  conception  which  will  help  us  to 
realize  our  aspirations,  and  we  will  accept  it.  .  .  .' 
That  religious  conception  is  the  clear  apprehension  of 
Jesus  Christ,  living  and  loving  and  dying  for  the  salva- 
tion of  the  world." 


PART  III 

RELATIONS  BETWEEN  AMERICAN  AND 
FRENCH  PROTESTANTISM 


AMERICAN  ORGANIZATIONS  AT  WORK  FOR 
FRANCE 

From  the  very  outbreak  of  hostilities  few  Americans 
were  not  touched  by  the  impulse  to  share  in  some  meas- 
ure with  France  the  service  which  she  was  rendering  to 
the  world.  To  mention  only  by  name  the  organizations 
which  since  then  have  been  formed  in  this  country  for 
this  purpose  would  be  impossible.  While  few  of  these 
are  directly  working  for  French  Protestantism,  the  Prot- 
estants with  all  France  find  inspiration  and  courage  in  the 
poignant  sense  of  their  fellowship. 

The  American  Red  Cross,  while  strictly  non-confes- 
sional, has  more  than  once  recognized  the  value  of  Prot- 
estant organizations  as  aids  to  its  efficiency,  and  in  April, 
1918,  the  presiding  officer  of  the  Society  in  Paris  took 
measures  to  meet  representatives  of  the  Reformed 
churches  of  France.  The  ''beautiful  zeal"  of  the  mem- 
bers of  this  Society  has  greatly  impressed  the  people  of 
Paris,  especially  the  order  and  method  which  characterize 
their  service.^ 

The  work  of  the  Young  Women's  Christian  Associa- 
tion of  America  among  industrial  French  women  has 

^  Le  Temoignage,  April  15,  1918. 
Le  Petit  Parisien,  April  2,  1918. 

177 


178       FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM 

been  officially  recognized.  At  the  request  of  the  French 
government,  nine  centers  were  established  for  French 
munition  workers.  In  these  centers  the  work  of  the 
Young  Women's  Christian  Association  is  similar  to  its 
industrial  work  in  this  country, — social,  recreational  and 
educational. 

A  typical  foyer  is  a  large  building  with  a  social  center, 
cafeteria  and  canteen.  The  average  daily  attendance  is 
eight  hundred.  For  membership  in  a  foyer,  munition 
workers  pay  ten  cents  each  a  month.  They  have  the  use 
of  the  room,  with  games,  magazines,  and  a  loan  library, 
being  enrolled  in  classes  in  dressmaking,  stenography, 
first  aid,  current  events  and  singing.  Gymnasium  classes, 
military  drill,  hikes,  games,  picnics  and  informal  parties 
are  planned  for  them. 

From  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association  a  con- 
stantly increasing  number  are  working  in  alliance  with 
young  French  Protestants  in  their  Foyers  du  Soldat 
(huts)  and  canteens,  with  strict  observance  of  the  non- 
confessional  laws  of  the  State,  but  not  without  a  marked 
religious  influence,  welcomed  by  French  chaplains. 

A  number  of  unrelated  Huguenot  societies  have  for 
years  been  sending  funds  to  French  churches  or  to  the 
Central  Evangelical  Society  of  France.  Among  those 
lately  giving  such  support  are  the  Huguenot  Evangelical 
Society  of  Richmond,  Va.,  and  a  kindred  society  in 
Staunton,  Va. 

It  is  probable  that  many  Presbyterian  and  Reformed 
churches  in  various  parts  of  the  country  have  for  years 
been  sending  occasional  contributions  to  their  fellow  be- 
lievers in  France.  An  instance  is  found  in  the  Univer- 
sity Place  Church,  New  York  (Rev.  George  Alexander, 


FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM        179 

D.D.,  pastor)  which  for  more  than  thirty  years  has  been 
thus  sending  funds,  in  addition  to  generous  contributions 
made  to  the  McAll  Mission. 

The  American  Tract  Society  for  more  than  eighty 
years  has  been  sending  cash  appropriations  to  France. 
The  grand  total  of  money  thus  sent  is  $30,470.  While 
these  appropriations  have  been  sent  principally  to  the 
Religious  Tract  Society  of  Paris,  they  have  also  in  some 
measure  been  given  to  kindred  organizations  throughout 
France.  By  means  of  these  appropriations,  not  hundreds 
of  thousands  but  millions  of  leaflets  have  been  printed 
in  the  French  language  and  distributed  among  the  people. 
The  dearth  of  popular  literature,  up  to  comparatively 
recent  years,  conspiring  with  the  impulse  to  thrift  innate 
in  the  French  character,  has  enhanced  the  value  of  these 
tracts,  which  far  from  being  once  read  and  then  thrown 
away,  have  in  countless  cases  been  read  and  reread, 
passed  from  hand  to  hand  through  a  whole  village,  until 
they  are  literally  worn  to  rags. 

The  American  Bible  Society  is  taking  active  interest 
in  the  distribution  of  Bibles  and  religious  literature  in 
France,  and  is  working  directly  through  the  Bible  So- 
cieties of  France,  and  indirectly  through  the  Evangelical 
Society  of  Geneva,  Switzerland  (Societe  Evangclique  de 
Geneve),  which  also  has  work  in  France.  Annual  con- 
tributions are  made  to  these  organizations. 

The  American  and  Foreign  Christian  Union  was 
founded  in  1849  to  provide  for  the  religious  needs  of 
American  Protestants  in  the  capitals  of  Europe.  The 
''American  Chapel"  (now  "Church")  in  the  Rue  de 
Berri,  Paris,  was  built  by  the  Union  and  presented  to  a 
resident  and  self-perpetuating  committee  of  Americans, 


180       FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM 

who  pay  one  dollar  a  year  for  its  use.     The  title  is 
vested  in  the  American  and  Foreign  Christian  Union. 


The  American  McAll  Association 

Founded  in  1883,  this  interdenominational  association 
of  women  was  the  outgrowth  of  the  story  told  in  several 
American  cities  by  Elizabeth  Beach,  a  gifted  young 
American  woman,  of  a  unique  work  in  which  she  had 
taken  part  while  pursuing  her  studies  in  France.  She 
founded  a  number  of  auxiliaries,  whose  modest  contribu- 
tions gave  acceptable  aid  at  a  time  when  the  rapid  success 
of  the  Mission  was  beginning  to  complicate  the  question 
of  support.  In  1880  and  again  in  1883  the  Paris  Board 
sent  to  the  United  States  a  deputation  of  such  dignity 
as  to  be  welcomed  not  only  by  the  auxiliaries  but  also 
in  the  churches.  The  second  deputation  visited  the  prin- 
cipal eastern  cities,  making  many  scores  of  addresses, 
founding  eight  new  auxiliaries,  and  collecting  more  than 
$15,000  for  the  Mission. 

It  was  while  public  attention  was  everywhere  attracted 
by  this  novel  embassy  from  France  that  on  March  29, 
1883,  representatives  of  eight  of  the  auxiliaries  founded 
by  Miss  Beach  met  in  Philadelphia  and  formed  the  Amer- 
ican McAll  Association.^  Not  long  after,  the  Rev. 
Martin  Luther  Berger,  a  Frenchman  resident  in  the 
United  States,  who  had  organized  the  tours  of  the  two 
deputations,  became  Field  Secretary. 

^  The  permanent  organization  included  the  wife  of  Ex-Presi- 
dent Hayes  as  its  President,  and  the  widow  of  President  Gar- 
field, President  of  the  Cleveland  auxiHary,  as  one  of  its  Vice- 
Presidents;  Mrs.  Marine  J.  Chase,  Executive  Secretary;  Miss 
Frances  Lea,  Treasurer ;  three  Secretaries  and  an  Assistant 
Treasurer  with  twelve  Directors. 


FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM        181 

In  October,  1883,  appeared  the  first  number  of  'The 
American  McAU  Record,"  edited  by  the  Rev.  Leander  T. 
Chamberlain,  D.D.  Many  leaflets  and  brochures  and 
several  books  have  since  been  published  in  rapid  succes- 
sion. At  the  first  annual  meeting  of  the  Association, 
held  in  Washington,  D.  C,  in  April,  1884,  Pastor  Emile 
Cook  of  Paris  addressed  a  large  public  meeting.  By 
November,  1885,  American  auxiliaries  were  paying  the 
rent,  and  in  a  few  instances  meeting  all  the  expenses  of 
twenty-three  mission  halls  in  Paris  and  the  provinces. 
The  following  year  a  letter  from  the  Paris  Board  an- 
nounced a  heavy  deficit  in  prospect  and  asked  for  a  day 
of  prayer.  November  12  was  appointed  by  the  Board 
of  the  Association  and  was  very  generally  observed  by 
the  Auxiliaries,  a  substantial  sum  being  also  raised  to- 
ward the  deficit.  Since  1902  Founders  Day,  January  17, 
the  day  on  which  the  first  Mission  station  was  opened 
in  1872,  has  been  generally  observed  by  special  meetings, 
and  ten  o'clock  in  the  evening  of  August  18,  the  hour 
of  the  "Macedonian  cry"  of  a  Paris  workingman  to 
Mr.  McAll,  by  individual  private  prayer. 

Since  1891  two  mission  boats,  Le  Bon  Messager  and 
La  Bonne  Nouvelle,  have  been  provided  for  service  on 
the  rivers  and  canals  of  France,  and  six  portable  halls 
for  pioneer  work  in  the  provinces. 

In  1904,  the  Directors  of  the  Paris  Board  having 
found  the  need  of  an  emergency  fund  to  be  urgent,  the 
American  Association  appealed  to  its  Auxiliaries  for  spe- 
cial gifts  to  the  amount  of  $30,000.  The  entire  amount 
was  promptly  given  by  Mrs.  Henry  Woods  of  Boston, 
long  a  resident  of  Paris.  The  Henry  Woods  Trust  Fund 
was  created  and  is  invested  in  England. 


182       FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM 

In  1912,  in  recognition  of  the  Fortieth  Anniversary 
of  the  Mission,  the  American  Association  placed  at  the 
service  of  the  Paris  Board  its  present  Central  Hall,  the 
"American  Building,"  no.  1  rue  Pierre  Levee,  Paris,  a 
six-story  building  with  playgrounds  and  roof  terraces, 
costing  $100,000. 

Since  the  outbreak  of  war  the  activities  of  the  auxil- 
iaries have  been  multiplied.  A  large  work  of  relief  and 
an  extensive  war  orphan  work,  while  demanding  large 
special  contributions,  have  proved  a  stimulus  to  the  regu- 
lar collection  of  funds  for  the  strictly  religious  work  of 
the  Mission,  while  considerable  sums  are  accumulating 
for  future  work  in  the  devastated  regions,  for  a  social 
center  in  a  densely-peopled  part  of  Paris,  for  a  third 
mission  boat,  for  a  car  for  the  Automobile  Mission  and 
for  a  Fresh  Air  and  Week  End  Home  for  debilitated 
children  and  adult  attendants  of  the  mission  halls. 

The  present  number  of  Senior  Auxiliaries  of  the  Asso- 
ciation is  sixty,  with  eighteen  Junior  Auxiliaries — a  rap- 
idly increasing  group,  through  whose  means  contributions 
to  the  amount  of  $10,000  have  been  gathered  for  a  women 
munition  workers'  social  center  in  a  suburb  of  Paris.^ 
Annual  contributions  to  the  regular  work  of  the  Mission 
amount  to  $45,000.  Thrice  as  much  has  been  contributed 
for  relief  work  during  the  war,  and  considerable  build- 
ing funds  have  accumulated  in  anticipation  of  peace. 

^  The  present  officers  of  the  Association  are  Mrs.  Charles  H. 
Parkhurst,  President;  Mrs.  Frank  B.  Kelley,  First  Vice-Presi- 
dent; Mrs.  Abraham  R.  Perkins,  Treasurer;  Miss  Harriet 
Harvey,  General  Secretary;  Rev.  George  Titus  Berry,  Field  Sec- 
retary. The  Bureau  of  the  Association  is  at  1710  Chestnut 
Street,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 


FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM       183 
The  Methodist  Episcopal  Church 

The  work  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  of 
America  in  France  grew  out  of  the  expansion  of  work 
in  the  adjoining  countries  of  Switzerland  and  Italy.  The 
evangehstic  workers  of  the  Methodist  Church,  particu- 
larly in  Switzerland,  came  in  contact  with  people  from 
French  villages  and  towns  and  an  interest  was  created 
in  the  message  of  evangelical  Christianity.  Bishop 
William  Burt  recognizing  the  obligation  of  this  condition 
secured  the  opening  of  a  mission  by  the  General  Mission- 
ary Committee  of  the  Church  in  America  in  1906,  Mr. 
John  S.  Huyler  of  New  York  City  pledging  the  funds 
necessary  for  its  support  for  a  period  of  years.  A  provi- 
dential leader  for  the  work  was  found  in  1909  in  the 
Rev.  Ernest  W.  Bysshe,  a  successful  pastor  in  the  metro- 
politan region  of  New  York. 

Since  Dr.  Bysshe  went  to  France  an  extensive  evan- 
gelistic work  has  been  carried  on,  particularly  in  the 
towns  and  villages  of  French  Savoy.  In  this  region 
there  is  a  population  of  about  four  millions,  three-fourths 
of  whom  are  not  connected  with  any  church — Catholic 
or  Protestant.  At  the  outbreak  of  the  war  the  Mission 
included  seven  stations  and  nine  out-appointments,  with 
nine  pastors  and  workers.  These  immediately  responded 
to  the  call  of  their  country  and  entered  the  army.  Of 
the  pastors  two  are  still  in  the  service,  two  have  been 
seriously  wounded  and  one  has  been  relieved  from 
further  service. 

Up  to  the  time  of  the  war  successful  evangelistic  cam- 
paigns had  been  maintained  by  means  of  a  tent  evangel 
with  an  average  week  night  attendance  of  two  hundred 


184       FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM 

and  on  Sundays  an  average  of  four  hundred.     GDncem- 
ing  this  work,  Superintendent  Bysshe  says: 

A  Methodist  Mission  was  organized  in  France  in  1907,  im- 
mediately following  the  separation  of  Church  and  State.  We 
have  established  ourselves  in  such  sections  as  Chambery, 
Grenoble  and  Lyons ;  also  in  Toulon  and  Grasse.  Our  Methodist 
constituency  now  numbers  not  less  than  2,400  in  Savoy  alone. 
Throughout  the  war  the  government  has  stood  by  us  loyally. 
The  two  great  problems  in  France  are  how  to  educate  the  chil- 
dren, and  how  to  feed  the  people  after  the  war.  That  led  us, 
at  our  orphanage  in  Grenoble,  to  train  the  sons  of  soldiers  as 
agricultural  experts.  After  the  war  is  over  there  will  be  a 
greater  opportunity  than  ever  to  carry  on  evangelistic  propa- 
ganda. The  great  mass  of  people  want  and  seek  the  Christian 
hope. 

In  connection  with  the  relief  work  for  the  families  of 
French  soldiers  many  thousands  of  dollars  have  been  dis- 
tributed by  Dr.  Bysshe  and  his  assistants.^ 

The  Centenary  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  is 
planning  to  undertake  liberal  things  in  France.  While 
this  work  is  under  the  administration  of  the  Board  of 
Foreign  Missions,  that  term  is  not  applied  to  it  in  the 
sense  in  which  it  is  ordinarily  used,  but  like  all  the  work 
of  the  Church  in  Europe,  the  motive  is  a  fraternal  co- 
operation with  the  leaders  of  the  French  people  in  helping 
to  build  up  a  vital  evangelical  Christianity  for  France. 

At  the  time  of  writing  Rev.  Frank  Mason  North,  Cor- 
responding Secretary  of  the  Board,  is  in  France,  together 

*  Dr.  Bysshe  has  founded,  in  Grenoble,  a  refuge  for  refugee 
and  repatriated  French  children,  Le  Foyer  Reirouve,  and  hopes 
to  secure  the  support  of  200  war  orphans  in  this  "  Home  Re- 
found  "  for  three  years.  Concerning  this  work  the  Rev.  Henri 
Merle  d'Aubigne  writes,  "It  is  a  great  agricultural  farm  school 
with  all  modern  implements." 


FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM       185 

with  a  representative  committee,  to  view  the  field.  Dr. 
North  is  at  the  same  time,  in  his  capacity  as  President  of 
the  Federal  Council,  commissioned  by  that  body  to  con- 
sult with  the  corresponding  committee  of  the  Federal 
Council  in  Paris,  relative  to  the  whole  program  and  field. 
The  War  Work  Commission  of  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church,  South,  has  also  become  interested  in  the 
work  in  France.  Bishop  Walter  R.  Lambuth  and  Rev. 
W.  W.  Pinson,  Secretary  of  the  Board  of  Foreign  Mis- 
sions of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South,  are  in 
France  in  consultation  with  other  interested  agencies. 

The  American  Baptist  Foreign  Mission  Society 

In  1832,  at  a  meeting  of  the  Baptist  Triennial  Con- 
vention, a  strong  appeal  was  made  for  undertaking  work 
in  France.  Professor  Ira  Chase  of  the  Newton  Theo- 
logical Institution  was  commissioned  to  visit  France  on  a 
tour  of  investigation,  accompanied  by  Mr.  J.  C.  Rostan, 
a  Frenchman.  In  the  northern  part  of  France  they 
found  several  Christian  churches  holding  substantially 
Baptist  views,  and  upon  Professor  Chase's  report  the 
Board  decided  to  continue  the  work.  Mr.  Rostan  having 
died  in  the  following  year,  Isaac  Wilmarth  was  the  first 
worker  to  be  regularly  appointed  to  the  French  Mission 
and  reached  Paris  in  1834.  The  first  Baptist  church  in 
Paris  was  organized  1835,  with  six  members.  By  1837 
seven  churches  had  been  organized  with  a  membership  of 
142,  several  helpers  had  been  developed  from  among  the 
people,  and  a  pastor  had  been  placed  over  each  church, 
the  only  American  representative  at  that  time  being  Mr. 
Willard. 


186       FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM 

In  1848  Dr.  T.  T.  Devan,  formerly  a  missionary  to 
China,  joined  the  Mission  but  remained  only  five  years. 
Since  1856  the  work  has  been  almost  entirely  in  the  hands 
of  the  French  brethren,  with  only  financial  aid  from 
America. 

In  1872  the  Rev.  Robert  W.  McAll,  who  might  well  be 
called  the  Moody  of  Paris,  began  his  now  well-known 
work.  Its  influence  led  to  a  general  revival  in  all  the 
Protestant  churches  of  Paris.  Mr.  Ruben  Saillens,  the 
young  son  of  the  pastor  of  an  Independent  Church,  was 
long  actively  engaged  in  the  McAll  Mission.  In  1889  he 
organized  the  second  Baptist  church  in  Paris  and  began 
to  hold  services  in  a  hall  in  Rue  St.  Denis.  In  1891, 
after  much  thought,  Mr.  Saillens  withdrew  from  the 
McAll  Mission  to  give  all  his  time  and  influence  to  Bap- 
tist mission  work.  He  was  elected  General  Secretary  of 
the  French  Baptist  Missionary  Committee,  with  oversight 
of  the  entire  field.  The  revival  which  had  begun  in  1888 
now  increased  in  power  and  the  churches  were  greatly 
strengthened.  In  fifteen  months  the  two  churches  in 
Paris  nearly  doubled  their  membership ;  the  Rue  de  Lille 
church  had  four  mission  halls  and  the  Rue  St.  Denis  two, 
aside  from  constant  daily  meetings  in  their  own  halls. 

The  work  is  now  under  the  direction  of  two  com- 
mittees, known  as  the  Franco-Belgian  and  the  Franco- 
Swiss  Committees.  The  appropriation  made  by  the 
American  Baptist  Foreign  Mission  Society  to  the  work 
of  French  Baptists  in  1913-14  was  $9,180. 

During  the  year  1918  George  W.  Coleman,  President 
of  the  Northern  Baptist  Convention,  visited  France ;  and 
the  Foreign  Mission  Society  has  now  commissioned  its 
Foreign   Secretary,   Rev.   James   H.   Franklin,   to  visit 


FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM       187 

France  under  instructions  to  bring  back  reports  relative 
to  the  work,  conditions  and  needs  of  the  Baptist 
churches  and  of  the  whole  situation  relative  to  the  evan- 
gelical movement. 

National  Lutheran  Council 

The  Lutheran  churches  have  not  until  recently  taken 
part  in  religious  or  benevolent  work  for  France  except 
in  so  far  as  they  have  liberally  contributed  to  the  Red 
Cross  and  other  agencies. 

Up  to  the  time  when  the  National  Lutheran  Commis- 
sion for  Soldiers'  and  Sailors'  Welfare  was  organized, 
in  1917,  the  Lutheran  Church  could  not  act  unitedly  be- 
cause of  its  various  independent  synods.  This  organi- 
zation offered  the  Lutheran  Church  an  opportunity  to 
assist  in  a  larger  way,  although  being  organized  solely 
for  the  serving  of  American  soldiers  and  sailors,  it  is 
purely  a  war  emergency  organization. 

The  budget  of  the  Commission  provided  $50,000  for 
work  in  France,  but  with  the  understanding  that  it 
should  be  spent  for  the  welfare  of  American  troops 
rather  than  for  the  French  Lutheran  Church.  Two  com- 
missioners were  sent  to  France,  the  Rev.  Charles  J. 
Smith,  D.D.,  of  Holy  Trinity  Lutheran  Church,  New 
York  City,  and  the  Hon.  Frank  M.  Riter  of  Philadelphia. 
The  purpose  of  the  proposed  visit  of  these  commissioners 
was  thus  stated  to  the  Department  of  State : 

The  National  Lutheran  Commission  is  the  only  organization 
representing  all  Lutherans  in  the  United  States.  As  such,  it 
seeks  the  sending  of  a  commission  to  the  French  Lutheran 
Church.    It  will  aim  to  hearten  the  Lutheran  Church  in  France, 


188       FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM 

and  to  assist  this  church  both  in  ministering  to  its  own  people 
and  to  the  United  States  soldiers  whom  it  may  have  opportunity 
to  serve. 

The  Commission  carried  the  greetings  of  2,500,000 
American  Lutherans  to  Marshal  Foch,  General  Pershing 
and  President  Poincare.  It  reached  Paris  in  November, 
1918,  was  warmly  welcomed,  and  after  investigating  the 
condition  and  needs  of  the  Lutheran  churches  of  France 
and  Alsace  returned  to  America  before  the  end  of  the 
year.  The  visit  of  the  two  commissioners  has  been  of 
great  value  in  heartening  the  French  Lutherans.  It  has 
also  created  a  lively  interest  among  the  Lutherans  in  this 
country. 

In  order  to  deal  more  directly  with  emergencies  and 
needs  arising  out  of  the  war,  the  Lutheran  Church  has 
organized  the  National  Lutheran  Council,  which  perma- 
nent organization  is  empowered  to  take  the  proper  steps 
to  meet  such  emergencies  and  needs.  The  Lutheran 
Church  in  France  constitutes  one  of  these. 


II 


AMERICA'S  FUTURE  PART  FOR  FRENCH 
PROTESTANTISM 

The  following  message,  under  date  of  November,  1917, 
doubly  impressive  as  written  by  the  late  revered  Dr. 
Charles  Wagner,  fitly  introduces  our  subject: 

The  Federation  of  French  Protestantism,  authorized  rep- 
resentative of  all  the  groups  of  our  churches,  charged  by  them 
with  common  accord  to  defend  their  interests  wherever  there 
may  be  need,  sends  its  cordial  greetings  to  the  Federal  Cotmcil 
of  the  Churches  of  Christ  in  America. 

With  a  heart  full  of  gratitude,  French  Christians  have  noted, 
since  the  beginning  of  the  war,  the  admirable  movement  which 
has  borne  America  toward  France,  producing  many  helpful 
works,  even  before  the  United  States  jomed  the  Allies  in  the 
v/ar.  We,  in  the  land  of  the  old  Huguenots,  have  in  particular 
been  deeply  comforted  to  witness  on  many  occasions  the  deep 
and  active  sympathy  which  exists  for  us  in  the  heart  of  America. 
All  this  emboldens  us  to  confide  to  our  American  brothers  the 
burdens  and  cares  of  our  Protestant  people  and  of  our  churches ; 
so  that  they  may  understand  the  terrible  situation  which  this 
war  has  brought  upon  us,  may  measure  our  losses,  our  ruins, 
our  present  sufferings,  and  foresee  the  distress  which  still  awaits 
us. 

In  all  the  devastated  regions  of  France  and  Belgium  there 
are  Protestant  communities.  Under  invasion  they  have  literally 
suffered  martyrdom.  Most  of  them  are  deprived  of  their  pas- 
tors who  have  been  mobilized  as  soldiers  or  officers,  as  hospital 
attendants,  as  chaplains,  or  who  with  the  prominent  citizens  of 

189 


190       FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM 

their  parishes,  have  been  led  away  into  exile.  The  pitiful  rem- 
nant suffers  every  privation.  Only  by  exception  have  aged  or 
infirm  pastors  remaining  at  their  post  received  any  salaries. 
With  their  families  and  parishioners  they  have  undergone  bom- 
bardment and  pillage,  have  lived  in  cellars,  have  known  extreme 
poverty  and  all  the  horrors  of  invasion.  In  the  recovered 
regions  they  have  undergone  every  calamity  which  human  beings 
can  endure.  The  enemy  withdrawing  burned  their  houses, 
ravaged  their  gardens,  cut  down  their  trees,  carried  away  every- 
thing. After  the  tempest  of  iron  and  fire  the  land  is  upheaved 
like  a  volcanic  region, 

French  Protestants  are  moved  by  these  distresses.  They  have 
long  been  endeavoring  to  aid  the  most  urgent  cases.  But  all 
our  churches  have  suffered  from  the  war.  Property  has  dimin- 
ished, possessions  have  been  lost.  Many  are  caring  for  rela- 
tives from  the  war-swept  regions.  The  very  limited  aid  at 
present  possible  will  soon  be  entirely  disproportionate  to  the 
need.  How  shall  we  meet  the  call  to  repair  breaches,  restore 
ruins,  rebuild  temples  and  manses,  assure  the  salaries  of  pas- 
tor's— salaries  which  the  devastated  regions  will  be  unable  to 
furnish?  How  shall  we  aid  the  mutilated,  the  widows  and  the 
orphans,  how  enable  families  to  get  upon  their  feet,  reorganize 
sacked  homes,  restore  devastated  fields  to  cultivation?  In  what 
state  shall  we  find  the  cities  and  villages  of  the  Aisne,  of 
Champagne,  of  the  East?  In  what  state  will  be  the  Protestant 
churches  of  Belgium,  for  which  we  would  care  as  for  our  own? 
In  what  state  shall  we  find  Alsace  and  Lorraine  when  the  enemy 
has  been  driven  back  by  the  Allies?  With  fears,  alas,  too  well 
justified  we  look  toward  the  near  future! 

God  will  not  fail  us.  But  have  we  not  a  right  to  hope  that 
one  manifestation  of  His  aid  will  be  human  fraternity,  active 
tenderness  on  the  part  of  churches  suffering  less  from  the  war 
than  our  own,  churches  that  will  find  noble  satisfaction  in  lend- 
ing us  aid  and  support?  Is  it  not  today  our  duty,  in  the  pres- 
ence of  the  daily  approaching  future,  to  organize  and  prepare 
for  it? 

In  this  spirit  the  Protestant  Federation  of  France  has  organ- 
ized a  Relief  Committee  to  be  the  instrument  for  future  material 


FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM        191 

and  spiritual  reconstruction.  This  committee  has  appointed  men 
of  experience  and  good  will  to  whom  it  has  entrusted  the  duty 
of  investigating  needs,  of  receiving  requests,  of  estimating 
losses,  of  ministering  and  distributing  in  the  best  possible  way 
such  resources  as  Christian  liberality  may  gather  for  this  end. 

All  is  ready  for  a  large  undertaking  which  will  be  practical, 
prompt  and  well  coordinated.  We  are  sure  that  our  brothers 
of  America  will  by  their  strong  aid  make  us  capable  of  accom- 
plishing all  that  we  should  do  in  the  intimate  union  of  the  French 
Protestant  family.  They  will  wish  to  extend  efficient  sympathy 
to  their  brothers  in  the  faith,  descendants  of  the  Huguenots,  to 
those  whose  fathers  have  so  many  times  fought  for  spiritual 
liberty  and  who  so  effectively  contributed  toward  laying  the 
foundations  of  American  democracy.  We  shall  need  their  sym- 
pathy not  only  for  restoring  ruins  but  also  for  revealing  to  the 
heart  of  our  people  the  patriotic  duty  of  our  churches  in  the 
glorious  awakening  which  we  now  foresee.  Protestantism  will 
have  great  services  to  render;  its  place  is  marked  on  the  fields 
of  work  and  the  task  is  so  great  that  we  shall  not  be  able  to 
accomplish  it  by  our  own  strength  alone. 

Support  from  without,  both  moral  and  material,  will  be  in- 
dispensable to  our  churches  and  to  our  works  of  evangelization. 
Our  American  brothers  will  not  leave  us  alone  in  this  glorious 
v/ork  of  spiritual  reconstruction,  of  spreading  abroad  the 
great  truths  which  the  Christian  world  demands  with  all  the 
strength  of  its  soul.  Doubtless  you  will  ask  us,  friends  and 
brothers,  to  name  a  definite  sum  that  will  cover  our  needs.  In 
reply  we  are  compelled  to  tell  you  that  the  sum  we  could  now 
estimate  will  surely  be  exceeded  by  reason  of  future  develop- 
ments. To  enter  vigorously  upon  the  matter,  and  being  once 
committed  to  the  glorious  task,  not  to  be  condemned  to  a  failure, 
we  need  to  count  upon  about  $2,000,000  to  provide  for  immediate 
needs  and  for  the  repair  of  material  damage. 

A  further  sum  approximating  the  above  will  be  necessary  to 
assure  to  the  churches  and  to  our  works  of  evangelization  a 
fund  from  which  their  impoverished  budgets  may  draw  sup- 
plementary subsidies. 

We  feel  the  seriousness  of  such  figures.    The  pressure  of  cir- 


192       FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM 

cumstances  and  our  entire  confidence  in  your  fraternal  disposi- 
tion give  us  courage  to  name  them.  May  God  give  us  both  the 
opportunity  of  putting  our  whole  hearts  into  a  simultaneous 
effort,  that  from  the  heart  of  the  present  tribulation  may  come, 
through  His  Paternal  inspiration,  the  light  which  shall  prepare 
for  us  a  better  time. 

Cordially  yours, 
(signed)   E.  Gruner,  President  French  Protestant  Federation. 

Corn  ELI  s  DE  Witt,  President  Protestant  Committee  for 
Aid   for  the  Devastated  Regions. 

Andre  Weiss,  President  French  Protestant  Committee. 


Let  us  reconsider  the  conditions.  There  has  been  a 
great  mortality  among  pastors  and  evangelists.  Of  mis- 
sionaries in  the  foreign  field  all  of  military  age  and  fit- 
ness were  with  the  army,  and  of  those  who  were  left 
more  than  one  died,  worn  out  by  trebled  duty  and  by 
the  impossibility  of  enjoying  the  usual  furloughs  ren- 
dered almost  imperative  by  climatic  conditions.  Of 
workers  in  social  and  benevolent  activities  of  military 
age  an  equal  proportion  of  loss  prevails.  A  recent  esti- 
mate shows  two  out  of  every  three  of  these  workers  as 
having  been  with  the  colors,  and  of  these  one  in  three 
has  laid  down  his  life.  Of  the  pastors  and  mission 
workers  above  military  age  (and  doubtless  the  same  is 
the  case  with  lay  workers)  few  are  they  who  have  not 
given  at  least  one  son  to  France,  a  number  of  them  theo- 
logical students  and  candidates  for  the  ministry.  Pastor 
Elie  Gounelle,  formerly  of  Roubaix,  later  of  Paris,  at  the 
death  on  the  Field  of  Honor  of  his  eldest  son  Henri,  a 
boy  of  nineteen,  himself  volunteered  in  his  place,  and  has 
since  then  been  a  chaplain  with  the  army,  a  position,  as 
the  facts  have  shown,  as  perilous  as  any  other.  The  war 
being  over  human  reinforcements  are  as  imperatively 


FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM        193 

needed  by  French  Protestantism  as  ever  were  relief 
forces  needed  by  a  beleaguered  city. 

How  shall  we  meet  this  need  ?  We  know  that  there  are 
to-day  in  France,  working  in  Young  Men's  Christian 
Association  huts  and  canteens,  in  associations  of  all  sorts 
for  relief  and  benevolence,  hundreds  if  not  thousands 
of  American  young  men  and  women, — pastors,  business 
men,  "society"  girls  and  older  women  of  leisure ;  all  of 
them  men  and  women  of  education  and  refinement,  who 
have  had  from  one  to  four  years  of  practice  in  speaking 
French.  At  the  close  of  the  war  they  stand  at  a  point 
of  vantage  for  perfecting  themselves  in  French,  their  ears 
having  become  familiar  with  the  spoken  language  in  all 
its  idioms  and  various  forms  of  patois.  To  such  of  these 
as  are  not  imperatively  called  home  by  duty,  the  sum- 
mons is  loud  and  clear;  having  thus  generously  given 
themselves  to  the  cause  of  France,  which  is  the  cause  of 
all  humanity,  they  more  than  all  others  owe  it  to  them- 
selves, to  France  and  to  humanity  to  complete  the  gift 
by  offering  themselves  to  the  stricken  land  in  this  hour 
of  reconstruction,  and  those  who  are  Protestants  by  of- 
fering themselves  to  the  French  Protestant  Federation 
under  one  of  its  permanent  forms  of  activity;  chaplains 
and  Young  Men's  Christian  Association  workers  to  the 
ministry  or  to  evangelization;  civil  engineers,  soldiers 
and  women  to  works  of  reconstructive  philanthropy  and 
education. 

If  the  money  in  the  possession  of  American  Christians 
were  not  consecrated  money,  it  would  seem  almost  un- 
worthy of  the  great  cause  to  say  that  in  the  second  place 
America  owes  it  to  French  Protestantism  to  provide  large 
funds  for  future  need  in  France.     It  is  not  unworthy, 


194       FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM 

because  American  Christians  know  themselves  to  be,  and 
have  by  repeated  proofs  shown  themselves  to  be,  stew- 
ards of  God's  bounty.  Thank  God,  it  is  not  only  the 
rich  men  and  women  of  this  country,  but  those  of  mod- 
erate possessions,  even  those  of  the  most  slender  means, 
who  have  learned  in  the  school  of  God  that  it  is  more 
blessed  to  give  than  to  receive,  and  from  such  the  facts 
as  to  the  financial  condition  and  needs  of  the  Protestant 
churches  and  their  scattered  adherents,  and  as  to  the 
religious  and  social  benevolences  of  French  Protestants, 
will  insure  large  contributions  to  this  cause. 

Large  sums  of  money  are  needed  for  the  rebuilding 
of  churches  utterly  destroyed  by  war,  as  in  St.  Qrentin, 
Rlieim's,  and  many  smaller  towns  and  villages  in  the 
devastated  regions,  and  for  the  repairing  and  furnish- 
ing of  many  others,  still  standing  indeed,  but  robbed  of 
furniture  and  fittings,  even  of  doors  and  windows,  or 
converted  into  storehouses,  granaries,  even  stables.  Many 
will  be  the  widows  and  fatherless  children  of  ministers, 
evangelists  and  missionaries,  not  actually  killed  in  battle 
and  therefore  not  entitled  to  pensions  from  the  State, 
who  must  be  cared  for  by  the  churches.  And  many  will 
be  the  ministers  and  missionaries  returning  from  the  war 
broken  and  prematurely  aged,  needing  to  be  restored  to 
usefulness,  if  possible,  by  a  long  period  of  repose  or  of 
special  treatment,  undisturbed  by  financial  anxiety. 

Protestants  of  Alsace  also  need  our  help.  Heinrich 
Frankel,  in  Les  Martyrs  d' Alsace-Lorraine,  wrote  that 
since  the  outbreak  of  war  peaceable  and  law  abiding  citi- 
zens had  been  condemned  to  an  aggregate  of  three  thou- 
sand years  of  prison  and  were  suffering  their  sentences, 
merely  for  having  "French  sentiments." 


FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM        195 

If  it  was  difficult  for  the  churches  before  the  war  to 
meet  their  own  expenses  with  those  for  home  and  foreign 
missions,  it  will  be  doubly  difficult  now  with  many  of 
their  most  generous  givers  dead,  business  disorganized, 
and  calls  hitherto  unknown  pressing  upon  those  who  yet 
remain.  With  the  new  era  many  new  demands  will 
arise.  Scattered  Protestants  must  be  "gathered  one  by 
one,"  and  restored  to  their  birthright  of  religious  oppor- 
tunity. Educational  works  must  be  enlarged  and  their 
number  and  scope  increased — the  maimed,  the  blind,  the 
deaf  must  be  taught  how  to  live — new  benevolences  must 
be  instituted  and  supported.  The  need  of  good  religious 
literature,  always  considerable,  will  be  greatly  increased, 
and  such  literature  is  never  self-supporting. 

A  serious  attempt  to  calculate  the  relative  percentages 
of  financial  aid  beyond  what  ought  to  be  expected  from 
French  Protestants,  that  will  be  needed  to  repair  dam- 
ages and  embrace  new  opportunities,  was  lately  made  by 
the  officers  of  the  Federation  of  French  Protestantism.^ 

The  foregoing  pages  of  this  chapter  show  how  far 
their  requests  are  from  including  all  the  needs  that  ought 
to  touch  the  American  heart,  all  the  financial  help  that 
America  ought  to  give.    In  the  given  estimate  not  a  word 

^  After  full  consideration  of  the  subject  "the  Committee 
thought  it  wise  to  remit  the  larger  part  of  funds  immediately 
expected  from  America,  or  45  per  cent.,  to  the  Relief  Com- 
mittee (Comite  d'entr'Aide).  For  the  churches,  since  help  pro- 
portionate to  the  losses  of  each  denomination  could  not  be 
exactly  measured,  the  number  of  pastors  in  each  denommation 
was  taken  as  a  basis,  an  allowance  being  set  apart  as  emergency 
war  help.  A  share  of  35  per  cent,  was  voted  for  this.  For 
church  buildings,  manses,  etc.,  10  per  cent  was  voted;  for  edu- 
cational and  social  work,  schools  in  the  invaded  regions, 
seminaries,  the  religious  press,  a  most  needful  medium  in  very 
difficult  circumstances,  was  voted  10  per  cent.  These  are  modest 
requests,  based  upon  funds  immediately  to  be  hoped  for. 


1%       FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM 

was  said  about  Belgium,  not  one  about  Alsace-Lorraine, 
though  their  needs  enormously  increase  the  task  of 
French  Protestantism  and  the  obligation  of  Americans. 
Pastor  Bach  reminds  Americans  of  their  special  debt  to 
Alsace,  since  an  Alsatian  regiment  (the  Royal  Deux 
Pouts,  now  the  89th),  in  Rochambeau's  forces,  prac- 
tically decided  the  issue  of  the  War  of  Independence. 
Surely  American  Christians  will  hasten  to  support  their 
French  brethren  in  their  work  for  Alsace ! 

The  Established  Church  of  Belgium,  its  ministers 
salaried  by  the  State,  carried  on  until  the  cruel  days  of 
1914  at  its  own  charges  (except  for  the  State  grant  of 
fcs.  75,000  for  stipends  of  its  pastors  and  their  assist- 
ants), a  useful  work,  including  evangelization,  foreign, 
home  and  seamen's  missions,  temperance,  theological  and 
primary  education,  diaconate  and  deaconess  work,  care 
of  the  aged  and  of  orphans,  and  social  activities,  at  a 
cost  of  fcs.  2,728,000.  Having  cut  expenses  down  by 
one-third,  they  were  able  for  two  years  to  defray  the 
remainder  from  reserve  funds  and  by  extraordinary 
efforts  on  the  part  of  the  people;  but  now  the  need  is 
urgent  for  gifts  of  at  least  fcs.  30,000  per  year. 

Nor  was  mention  made  of  the  expense  of  the  French 
churches  for  benevolences  and  deacons'  ministry,  espe- 
cially in  the  Reformed  and  Lutheran  churches.  The 
United  Lutheran  Church  of  America,  recently  formed 
by  the  union  of  three  distinct  Lutheran  bodies,  the  Gen- 
eral Council,  the  General  Synod  and  the  United  Synod 
South,  has  expressed  itself  as  purposing  to  extend  effec- 
tive aid  to  their  French  and  Alsatian  brethren.^ 

*  Lutheran  readers  of  this  volume  will  be  interested  to  learn 
of  the  work  at  Courbevoie,  a  suburb  of  Paris,  where  in  1907 


FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM        197 

Nor  have  the  needs  of  the  Paris  Board  of  Missions 
(Societe  des  Missions  Evangeliques)  been  included  in 
the  financial  help  requested;  although  the  war  has  ac- 
tually added  to  its  work  by  the  taking  over  of  the 
Cameroon  Mission  from  the  German  society.  Up  to 
this  time  this  extra  expense  has  been  covered  by  special 
gifts;  but  for  reasons  already  mentioned  the  society  is 
heavily  crippled  in  its  finances. 

We  have  seen  what  the  foreign  mission  work  of  France 
means  to  the  progress  of  the  Kingdom  of  God,  and  we 
know  that  it  is  an  unquestionable  fact  that  a  French 
society  alone  is  qualified,  under  present  conditions,  to 
occupy  some  of  the  world's  most  important  unoccupied 
fields,  those  which  are  French  colonies.  In  Asia,  there  is 
the  whole  of  French  Indo-China,  with  twenty  million  in- 
habitants. In  Africa  are  French  Guinea,  the  Ivory  Coast, 
Dahomey,  the  greater  part  of  the  French  Congo — by 
itself  nearly  three  times  as  large  as  France — and  above 
all  the  Sudan,  where  the  final  conflict  between  the  Cres- 
cent and  the  Cross  is  to  be  decided.  These  African 
colonies  contain  more  than  thirty  million  inhabitants,  mak- 

the  Lutheran  Association  for  the  Development  of  Women's  Ac- 
tivities established  a  large  plant  and  now  carries  on,  in  connec- 
tion with  its  training  school  for  deaconesses,  a  private  hospital 
(established  in  1901,  and  in  1914  turned  into  an  auxiliary  war 
hospital),  and  two  other  auxiliary  hospitals,  which  since  August, 
1914,  have  cared  for  872  wounded  for  an  aggregate  of  58,256 
days  or  66%  days  each,  a  dispensary  for  tuberculous  soldiers,  a 
housemaids'  trainmg  school,  a  home  for  aged  persons,  aQ^d 
an  open  air  school  for  feeble  and  debilitated  children.  The 
greater  part  of  the  expenses  have  been  met  by  the  committees 
of  ladies  managing  these  various  works,  and  by  grants  from 
government  for  the  hospitals,  but  financial  conditions  are  daily 
becoming  more  difficult,  not  to  say  that  large  expenses  attended 
the  setting  up  of  the  auxiliary  hospitals.  At  present  a  debt  of 
over  fcs.  100,000  rests  upon  the  work. 


198       FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM 

ing  a  total  of  fifty  million  subjects  of  France  who  are 
still  waiting  for  the  Gospel.  The  door  is  wide  open  to 
French  missions,  and  since  the  Protestant  Missionary 
Societies  of  America  and  Great  Britain  may  not  occupy 
these  fields,  it  is  their  duty,  it  is  our  duty,  to  come  for- 
ward with  help  for  those  who  may.  It  is  not  a  question 
of  our  debt  to  France.  All  Christians  are  responsible  for 
the  heathen  world.  With  our  eyes  at  last  open  to  the 
noble  character  of  France,  to  her  splendid  efficiency  for 
the  spiritual  service  of  mankind,  shall  the  call  be  heard 
without  evoking  a  whole-hearted  response?  Chaplain 
Lauga  in  his  pamphlet  "The  Hope  that  Comes  from 
America"  rests  his  faith  upon  the  fact  that  there  are  not 
two  Frances,  Protestant  and  Catholic ;  that  there  is  only 
one  France,  that  France  is  one,  and  that  our  interest  in 
French  Protestantism  is  only  one  form  of  our  love  for 
France,  our  respect  for  its  convictions,  its  love  of  free- 
dom of  thought  and  conscience.  It  is  all  France  that 
with  implicit  confidence  is  relying  on  that  "Christian  con- 
ception of  the  power  of  money,"  which  with  wondering 
respect  they  find  in  Americans,  believing  that  with  us 
money  is  an  instrument,  a  servant,  that  the  dollar  has 
value  only  as  it  serves.  This  view  of  the  American  char- 
acter, held  by  French  Protestants,  makes  it  both  easy  and 
inspiring  for  us  to  extend  financial  aid  to  France  through 
our  Protestant  brethren  there. 

They  tell  us  that  "the  round  figure  of  two  million 
dollars  for  the  general  expenses  of  churches  and  religious 
works  is  far  below  the  actual  total,  and  supposes  a  fair 
sum  'per  capita,'  of  600,000  French  Protestants  who 
twelve  years  ago  were  accustomed  to  an  established  and 
State-supported  Church,  and  considered  that  support  a 


FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM       199 

due  compensation  for  the  immense  losses  and  numberless 
destructions  of  churches  during  two  centuries  and  a  half 
of  persecution."  Two  million  dollars  gives  a  fair  sum 
per  capita  for  600,000  French  Protestants!  What  is  a 
"fair  sum  per  capita"  for  thirty  million  American  Prot- 
estants who  realize  the  present  woes  and  needs  of  France, 
and  the  enormous  debt  we  owe  her?  We  have  formed 
the  habit  of  large  gifts  to  our  nation  for  war  uses,  of 
lavish  contributions  to  the  Red  Cross  and  the  Christian 
Associations  of  young  men  and  young  women.  It  will 
be  no  small  amount  that  will  satisfy  our  love  of  France, 
and  our  sense  of  obligation  to  her,  now  that,  in  the 
extremity  and  the  opportunity  of  her  noblest  sons  and 
daughters,  her  Protestant  children,  we  have  the  privilege 
of  denying  ourselves  for  her.  Large  contributions  of 
money,  generous  self-devotion  of  a  great  army  of  men 
and  women,  will  alone  satisfy  the  heart  of  Protestant 
America. 

More  than  all  else  we  owe  to  the  Protestants  of  France 
our  spiritual  sympathy  and  our  prayers.  French  Prot- 
estantism now  stands  at  the  threshold  of  a  new  career, 
for  which  four  hundred  years  have  been  preparing  her. 
For  three  hundred  years  it  was  the  mission  of  French 
Protestantism  to  endure ;  as  Marie  Durand  engraved  the 
word  with  her  knitting  needle  upon  the  stone  floor  of 
her  prison  Tower  of  Constance,  to  resist,  Resisted!  Now 
it  is  summoned  to  conquer.  For  this  the  century  just 
past  has  been  a  preparation;  in  the  midst  of  a  nation 
of  40,000,000  this  little  handful  of  600,000  Protestants 
has  organized  itself,  has  trained  itself  in  the  two  schools 
of  missions,  home  and  foreign,  and  of  benevolence  in 
countless  forms,  culminating  in  an  important  work  of 


200       FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM 

social  Christianity ;  it  has  become  aware  of  a  great  reli- 
gious hunger  and  thirst  consuming  the  multitudes  of 
France  who  know  not  God.  But  the  events  of  the  war 
have  also  awakened  the  Catholic  Church  in  France  to 
this  religious  hunger,  and  with  new  and  chastened  zeal 
she  is  endeavoring  to  meet  it.  Between  these  two  bodies, 
five  millions  of  Catholics,  devoted  but  unskilled  for  this 
task,  and  three-fifths  of  a  million  of  Protestants  taught 
in  the  school  of  resistance  and  of  effort,  lies  the  great 
nation  of  France,  twenty  years  ago  sceptic,  now  seeking 
for  a  religion.  Which  shall  she  choose?  Gaston  Riou, 
returning  from  his  German  prison  camp,  warns  us: 

Be  assured  that  nothing  can  qniet  religious  hunger;  if  we 
(French  Protestants)  fail  in  our  duty  to  France,  France  will 
throw  herself  into  the  arms  of  Rome.  That  for  us  would  be 
abdication,  for  France  herself  it  would  be  discrowning,  for  the 
Mission  of  France  in  the  world  would  be  lost. 

Shall  we,  Protestant  Christians  of  the  United  States, 
stand  aside  and  see  France  lose  her  crown?  We,  be- 
tween whom  and  destruction  France  stood  for  three  long 
years  we  to  whose  sons  she  is  now  showing  generous 
hospitality,  with  whose  tears  of  bereavement  she  is  even 
mingling  her  own?  If  ever  America  owed  a  debt  to 
France,  she  owes  it  to  her  now,  owes  it  to  hear  in  the 
voiceless  supplication  of  her  soul  hunger  the  gentle  re- 
minder of  the  aged  Paul  to  Philemon,  "I  do  not  say 
to  thee  how  thou  owest  unto  me  even  thine  own  self, 
brother."  Yes,  we  owe  to  her  our  spiritual  sympathy 
.and  our  prayers,  but  more  imperatively  still  we  owe  it 
to  her  that  not  one  human  soul  in  the  length  and  breadth 
vof  that  "sweet  land  of  France"  shall  be  left  in  ignorance 


FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM       201 

of  what  the  Reformed  Religion  of  Christ  is,  and  of  what 
it  has  done  for  a  hundred  milHon  fellow  beings  in  this 
American  country  which  she  so  ardently  loves  and 
honors. 

Imagination  longs  to  picture,  faith  yearns  to  discern, 
what  the  full  satisfaction  of  the  present  soul  hunger  of 
France  would  mean  to  the  whole  world.  A  people  that 
have  loved  not  their  own  lives  to  the  death  for  the  eman- 
cipation of  the  world  from  autocratic  rule — what  would 
such  a  people  be  to  the  world  when  filled  with  all 
the  fulness  of  Christ?  France,  completely  evangelized, 
France  "colporteur  of  ideas,'*  with  her  love  of  the  fitting 
and  the  logical,  her  lofty  idealism,  directed  to  the  salva- 
tion of  the  w^orld,  would  be  a  center  of  apostolic  effort, 
a  fountain  of  holy  influences,  an  example  of  Christlike 
enthusiasm  of  humanity  until  now  unknown.  Such  a 
France  would  carry  the  principles  of  religion  into  all 
social  relations,  would  teach  the  world  how  religion  can 
be  made  to  interfuse  human  government  without  im- 
pinging on  individual  liberties.  She  would  usher  in  that 
era  for  which  the  whole  creation  has  been  groaning  and 
travailing  in  pain,  when  the  kingdoms  of  the  world  shall 
be  the  Kingdom  of  our  Lord  and  of  His  Christ,  and  with 
the  full  allegiance  of  all  humanity  He  shall  reign  for 
ever  and  ever. 

Let  American  Protestants  by  such  large  gifts  as  will 
overshadow  even  our  Red  Cross  and  Young  Men's  Chris- 
tion  Association  "drives,"  impress  all  France  with  the 
true  nature  of  Protestantism,  and  thus  discharge  to  that 
glorious  nation  our  obligation  "both  financial  and  moral." 


Ill 


AMERICAN  PROTESTANTS  UNITED  TO 
PERFORM  THEIR  PART 

As  the  war  has  been  strengthening  the  bond  of  sym- 
pathy between  America  and  the  people  of  France  and 
Belgium,  the  Protestants  of  these  countries,  realizing  that 
the  moral  strength  of  America  lies  in  its  spirit  of  free- 
dom fostered  by  Protestantism,  have  been  endeavoring 
to  come  into  closer  fellowship  with  the  Protestants  of 
America. 

Immediately  after  the  declaration  of  war  by  America 
the  French  Protestant  Committee  sent  to  the  Publicity 
Department  of  the  Federal  Council  of  the  Churches  of 
Christ  in  America  a  letter  for  publication  in  the  Prot- 
estant papers  of  this  country,  expressing  joy  in  the  fel- 
lowship of  the  two  nations,  now  allied  in  the  same  great 
cause,  and  suggesting  an  interchange  of  newspapers  and 
periodicals  to  the  end  that  each  country  might  learn  to 
understand  the  other  more  perfectly.  A  part  of  the 
letter  follows : 

The  French  Protestant  Committee,  in  cooperation  with  the 
Federal  Council  of  the  Protestant  Churches  in  France,  has  al- 
ready done  much,  by  means  of  its  monthly  Bulletin  and  other 
literature,  to  make  the  position  and  the  aim  of  France  during 
the  war  better  known  to  your   people.     But  since  the  great 

302 


FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM       203 

American  Republic  has  entered  with  all  her  might  into  the  battle 
for  the  united  cause  of  Democracy  and  International  Right,  we 
feel  it  our  duty  to  pay  a  more  worthy  tribute  to  the  kinship 
and  common  ideals  existing  between  the  Protestant  churches 
of  the  American  and  French  Republics.  .   .    . 

It  is  with  the  spirit  of  thankfulness  and  Christian  fellowship 
that  we,  French  Protestants,  testify  to  the  invaluable  support  of 
the  churches  and  the  religious  press  of  America  in  nursing  our 
wounded,  feeding  our  fellow-countrymen  under  the  yoke  of 
the  oppressor  and  caring  for  destitute  refugees.  .   .   . 

Our  Committee  desires  to  emphasize  the  fact  that  our  work, 
as  explained  above,  is  not  confined  to  the  time  of  war.  The 
Federal  Council  of  the  Protestant  Churches  in  France,  of  which 
our  Committee  is  the  "  Foreign  Office,"  existed  before  the  war, 
and  is  of  great  help  to  our  churches  at  the  present  time.  Our 
Federal  Council,  uniting  all  our  churches,  will  be  of  still  greater 
importance  when  we  come  to  face  the  problem  of  reorganization 
and  restoration,  after  the  establishment  of  peace.  .   .   . 

The  sense  of  intimate  communion  and  confidence  be- 
tween the  Protestants  of  France  and  America  had  not 
however  awaited  the  entrance  of  the  United  States  into 
the  war.  Delegations  previously  sent  to  this  country  by 
the  French  churches — though  the  need  of  financial  help 
was  in  the  first  two  instances  their  immediate  cause — 
were  yet  more  strongly  motived  by  the  desire  for  a  more 
perfect  acquaintance  and  more  intelligent  sympathy 
(deeper  it  could  hardly  be)  between  Protestants  of  the 
two  nations,  and  the  third  delegation  was  sent  from  this 
motive  alone.  The  first  to  come,  the  Rev.  Stuart  L. 
Roussel,  a  member  of  one  of  the  oldest  Huguenot  families 
in  the  south  of  France,  had  traveled  over  much  of  Africa 
and  Asia  as  well  as  America,  and  at  this  time,  January, 
1915,  was  a  lecturer  and  missionary  among  the  young. 
He  came   as  the  envoy  of   the  Evangelical   Reformed 


204       FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM 

Churches,  sent  to  acquaint  American  Protestants  with 
the  financial  difficuhies  with  which  these  churches  v/ere 
struggling,  and  to  raise  funds  in  their  behalf. 

A  committee  was  formed,  of  which  Dr.  J.  H.  Jowett, 
then  pastor  of  the  Fifth  Avenue  Presbyterian  Church, 
New  York  City,  was  chairman.  On  this  committee  were 
other  distinguished  pastors  and  laymen,  the  Episcopal 
Bishop  of  New  York,  Dr.  Greer,  and  the  Bishop's  Co- 
adjutor Dr.  Burch,  Dr.  Mark  Mathews,  Moderator  of 
the  General  Assembly  of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  U.  S. 
A.,  and  the  late  Colonel  Roosevelt.  This  committee 
created  an  Emergency  Relief  Fund  and  authorized  the 
General  Secretary  of  the  Federal  Council  to  take  meas- 
ures for  securing  funds.  Mr.  Roussel  meanwhile  gave 
his  message  in  the  principal  cities  of  the  Eastern  and 
Middle  States. 

In  1916  Dr.  C.  S.  Macfarland  went  to  Europe  as  the 
representative  of  the  Federal  Council,  visiting  many  parts 
of  the  Continent  and  especially  France,  where  he  met 
the  Protestant  brethren  and  was  aroused  to  such  an 
interest  in  their  welfare  that  on  his  return  to  America 
he  recommended  that  Mr.  Roussel  should  return  to 
France  while  he  himself  undertook  personally  to  continue 
his  work.  Pastor  Roussel  on  his  return  carried  a  consid- 
erable amount  of  money  to  the  churches  he  represented. 
Since  then  through  the  generosity  of  an  American  friend, 
Pastor  Roussel  has  been  able  to  buy  a  large  estate,  the 
Domaine  des  Cotirmettes  on  the  Cote  d'Azur,  twelve 
kilometres  from  the  Mediterranean  as  the  bird  flies,  in 
sight  of  the  Pic  des  Courmettes  of  the  Maritime  Alps 
and  the  picturesque  ravine  of  the  Gorges  dii  Loup 
(Wolf's  Glen),  where  he  has  established  a  sanatorium 


FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM       305 

for  tuberculous  children  under  the  glorious  name  of 
Gaspard  de  Coligny, 

Meanwhile,  in  the  latter  part  of  1915,  the  Franco- 
Belgian  Committee  of  the  Central  Evangelical  Society  of 
France,  representing  the  Belgian  Missionary  Church,  sent 
over  the  Rev.  Henri  H.  Anet,  LL.D.,  whose  grandfather, 
Pastor  Leonard  A.net,  founded  the  Belgian  Missionary 
Church  and  whose  father,  Pastor  Kennedy  Anet,  is  Gen- 
eral Secretary  of  that  missionary  organization.  Dr.  And: 
had  been  pastor  of  Missionary  churches  in  Charleroi, 
Liege  and  Clabecq,  and  was  in  Belgium  during  the  Ger- 
man invasion  of  1914.  He  succeeded  however  in  leaving 
the  country.  He  arrived  in  the  United  States  in  the 
autumn  of  1915  and  gave  about  150  addresses  in  various 
parts  of  the  United  States  and  Canada.  In  June,  1916, 
he  returned  to  France  and  by  the  end  of  September  was 
again  in  this  country,  giving  more  than  110  lectures  here 
and  in  Canada.  While  heeding  the  counsel  of  King 
Albert  to  speak  "with  moderation"  of  what  he  had  seen 
in  his  own  country,  he  succeeded  in  opening  the  eyes  of 
many  who  were  still  in  doubt  as  to  the  culpability  of 
Germany,  and  thus  served  the  United  States  in  those 
critical  months  before  our  Government  declared  war.  In 
June,  1917,  he  again  returned  to  France  and  after  a  few 
months  came  back  to  America  for  a  third  speaking  tour. 

In  March,  1916,  the  Federal  Council  of  the  Churches 
of  Christ  in  America  appointed  and  organized  the  Ameri- 
can Huguenot  Committee  with  Dr.  William  Jay  Schief- 
felin  as  chairman  and  Edmond  E.  Robert  as  treasurer. 
This  Committee  is  in  a  sense  the  continuation  of  the 
Franco-American  Committee  of  Evangelization  which 
was    founded   in    New   York   toward    the    end    of    the 


206       FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM 

nineteenth  century,  with  the  Rev.  David  James  Burrell, 
D.D.,  pastor  of  the  Marble  Collegiate  Church,  as  presi- 
dent. The  Franco-American  Committee  had  been  formed 
to  represent  in  this  country  the  Central  Evangelical  So- 
ciety of  France,  the  Evangelistic  Committee  of  the  Free 
Churches  of  France  and  the  Belgian  Missionary  Church, 
and  had  received  several  delegations  from  France  and 
Belgium,  It  had  however  ceased  to  function  when 
Dr.  Anet  arrived  in  1915.  Most  of  the  surviving  mem- 
bers became  members  of  the  new  com^mittee  which  was 
formed  to  collect  funds  for  the  French  and  Belgian  bodies 
previously  represented  by  the  Franco-American  Commit- 
tee. It  was  represented  by  Dr.  Anet  assisted  by  Madame 
Anet,  with  Percy  J,  Clibborn  as  organizing  secretary.  On 
December  15,  1918,  the  American  Huguenot  Committee 
was  merged  in  the  Committee  for  Christian  Relief  in 
France  and  Belgium. 

At  the  Quadrennial  Meeting  of  the  Federal  Council 
of  the  Churches  of  Christ  in  America  held  in  St.  Louis, 
Missouri,  December,  1916,  action  was  taken  to  send  the 
following  message  to  the  French  Protestant  Committee: 

January  19,   1917. 
Jules  Pfender,  1  rue  Bourdaloue  Paris  IX,  France. 

We  were  instructed  by  Quadrennial  meeting  to  send  follow- 
ing reply  to  your  message.     Repeat  to  Roussel  and  Paul  Barde. 

The  Federal  Council  of  the  Churches  of  Christ  in  America, 
composed  of  members  appointed  by  30  Christian  bodies  with 
18,000,000  of  communicants,  extends  to  the  Christian  brethren 
in  countries  now  engaged  in  war  its  deepest  sympathy,  born 
of  Christian  faith  and  brotherhood.  Our  hearts  have  been 
touched  as  we  have  learned  of  the\  sufferings  that  war  has 
brought  and  have  been  stirred  by  the  reports  of  the  deepening 
of  the  Christian  spirit  through  sorrow  and  self-devotion. 

We  pray  that  their  tragic  experiences  may  inspire  us  all  to  a 


FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM       207 

deeper  loyalty  to  the  spiritual  realities  in  which  believers  in 
Christ  are  one,  and  that  the  time  will  soon  come  when  differ- 
ences between  nations  may  be  adjusted  in  the  spirit  of  the 
Gospel  of  Christ  rather  than  by  appeal  to  arms.  Especially  do 
we  hope  that  the  present  war  may  come  to  a  speedy  end,  and 
we  call  upon  all  Christians  throughout  the  world  to  cooperate 
in  an  effort  to  establish  a  peace  that  shall  be  lasting  because 
based  on  justice  and  good  will. 

F.    M.    North,    President. 

Charles  S.  Macfarland,  General  Secretary. 

In  October  1917  the  French  Protestant  Federation  of 
Churches,  solely  intent  upon  expressing  to  their  American 
brethren  the  fellowship  and  appreciation  of  French  Prot- 
estants, sent  over  two  delegates,  Captain  Georges  F. 
Lauga,  Chaplain  in  the  French  army  and  Captain  A.  E. 
Victor  Monod,  Chaplain  in  the  French  navy,  as  official 
representatives  of  French  Protestantism. 

These  distinguished  delegates  brought  an  earnest 
message  to  American  Christians.  They  came  not  to 
collect  funds,  but  to  represent  to  their  brethren  in 
America  the  fellowship  and  appreciation  of  French 
Protestants.  Arrangements  had  been  made  by  the  Fed- 
eral Council  of  the  Churches  of  Christ  in  America  for 
them  to  deliver  their  message  in  the  principal  cities 
of  the  United  States,  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific 
Coast,  and  after  an  official  visit  to  Washington  they 
began  their  tour.  The  welcome  they  everywhere  re- 
ceived, both  from  the  people  and  the  press,  testified  to 
tlie  admiration  for  the  people  of  France  universally  felt 
in  this  country.^ 

The  impression  made  by  the  visit  of  these  two  mes- 
sengers was  well  summed  up  in  the  message  which  they 

*  See  TJie  Churches  of  Christ  In  America  and  France  (Fleming 
H.  Revell  Company). 


208       FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM 

bore   to    the    French    Churches,   concluding   with   these 
words : 

Our  plans  for  furthering  the  interchange  of  thought  and  life 
between  the  religious  forces  of  our  nations  and  our  hopes  for 
the  conservation  and  development  of  your  evangelical  churches 
and  missions,  they  will  make  known  to  you.  We  respond  heartily 
to  the  splendid  proposals  of  your  message.  We  trust  that  in 
days  to  come  we  may,  in  some  measure,  repay  the  debt  we  owe 
to  your  nation  and  to  your  churches,  an  account  whose  interest 
has  been  for  centuries  accumulating  and  which  we  can  never 
overtake. 

The  return  of  these  delegates  to  France  was  welcomed 
with  exuberant  joy.  After  formally  presenting  to  the 
French  Protestants  the  message  they  had  brought  from 
the  American  churches  they  visited  the  churches  in  the 
principal  cities,  telling  the  story  of  their  journey  and 
thrilling  their  hearers  with  their  account  of  the  sympathy 
and  admiration  which  Americans  everywhere  expressed 
with  regard  to  France. 

As  a  result  of  the  appeals  from  France  and  Belgium 
for  moral  and  financial  support  and  of  the  interest  cre- 
ated by  the  exchange  of  visits  we  began  to  recognize  our 
responsibility  to  our  brethren  across  the  sea.  It  became, 
however,  more  and  more  evident  that  if  there  was  to  be 
an  effective  relationship  established,  it  would  be  neces- 
sary to  unite  our  efforts  over  here  and  to  have  united 
action  over  there.  The  situation  developed  into  a  chal- 
lenge to  our  churches.  To  meet  this  challenge  the  Com- 
mittee for  Christian  Relief  in  France  and  Belgium  was 
organized 

The  Committee  had  its  inception,  November  2,  1917, 
at  an  informal  conference  on  Protestant  work  in  France 


FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM       209 

called  by  the  Administrative  Committee  of  the  Federal 
Council.  There  were  present  at  the  conference  repre- 
sentatives of  the  McAU  Mission,  The  American  Hugue- 
not Committee,  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Board  of  For- 
eign Missions  and  the  two  delegates  from  the  French 
churches — Chaplain  Georges  Lauga  and  Chaplain  A.  E. 
Victor  Monod.     The  Conference  voted, 

That  the  General  Secretary  of  the  Federal  Council  be  re- 
quested to  secure  appointment  of  a  committee  composed  of  rep- 
resentatives of  the  organizations  engaged  in  Protestant  work 
in  France,  of  which  he  should  be  the  chairman;  this  Com- 
mittee to  be  brought  together  for  Conference  with  the  under- 
standing that  its  recommendations  be  submitted  to  the  various 
bodies   for  approval  before  any  action  is  taken. 

On  January  7,  1918,  the  Committee  was  organized 
under  the  name  of  United  Committee  on  Christian 
Service  for  Relief  in  France  and  Belgium,  which  was 
changed  later  to  Committee  for  Christian  Relief  in 
France  and  Belgium. 

In  response  to  the  constitution  of  a  United  Committee 
here  the  French  Protestant  Federation  immediately  took 
steps  to  form  a  similar  committee  in  Paris.  (Co mite 
d' Union  Protesfante  pour  les  Sec  ours  de  Guerre  en 
France  et  en  Belgigue.    See  Appendix.) 

The  French  Committee  sent  to  the  American  Com- 
mittee the  following  words  of  greeting: 

We  have  heard  with  deep  thankfulness  that  the  principle  of 
a  general  appeal  to  your  churches  has  been  voted,  and  that  you 
have  been  the  means  of  such  a  momentous  step,  which,  apart 
from  its  encouragement  to  us,  brings  the  glad  prophesy  of  a 
better  union  and  cooperation  between  sister  churches. 

We  are  ready  to  act  in  the  broadest  and  most  friendly  spirit, 
•which   very   conspicuously   permeated    our   meetings,   and   gave 


210       FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM 

new  proofs  of  the  victories  of  God's  love  and  guidance  in  the 
midst  of  our  dark  and  heavy  days. 

Your  action  has  added  a  new,  and  we  believe,  decisive  im- 
pulse to  friendly  love  flourishing  in  spite  of  apparent  triumphs 
of  hatred  in  this  world.  We  are  deeply  glad  to  hope  and  pray 
with  one  heart  as  we  expect  new  and  unmeasured  blessings 
from  the  action  taken  unanimously,  as  a  response  to  your 
appeal. 

Mutual  Christian  service,  as  you  say,  will  repay  us  by  spiritual 
gains  for  all  our  material  losses,  when  we  have  done  all  that 
Christian  service  means. 

Both  here  and  in  France  and  Belgium  a  development 
toward  union  of  purpose  and  action  is  taking  place.  At 
the  first  meeting  of  the  Executive  Committee  of  the 
American  Committee,  held  February  15,  1918,  Dr.  Eddi- 
son  Mosiman  was  elected  Corresponding  Secretary  and 
was  instructed  to  secure  as  complete  cooperation  as 
possible  on  the  part  of  the  American  churches  and  their 
agencies.    In  this  there  is  continual  progress. 

Meanwhile  the  importance  that  the  United  Committee 
should  be  represented  in  France  by  its  Chairman  was 
urged  by  the  French  Committee  and  recognized  in  Amer- 
ica. An  invitation  was  thus  conveyed  by  cable,  through 
the  French  High  Commissioner  in  Washington,  M.  Andre 
Tardieu : 

The  High  Commissioner  of  the  French  Republic  in  the  United 

States 

to  Rev.  Charles  S.  Macfarland, 

General    Secretary   of   the   Administrative    Committee   of 
the  Federal  Council  of  the  Churches  of  Christ  in  America. 
Dear  Sir: — 

I  take  pleasure  in  communicating  to  you  the  following  invita- 
tion which  I  have  been  requested  by  the  Comite  Protestant 
Frangais  to  extend  to  you: 


FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM       211 

"French  Protestant  Committee  and  all  Constituent  organiza- 
tions cordially  and  earnestly  invite  the  Rev.  Charles  S.  Mac- 
farland  to  come  over  here  as  soon  as  possible  to  witness  our 
position,  our  efforts  and  our  hopes,  as  a  live  part  of  warring 
France,  to  visit  the  Franco-American  front,  and  to  report  to 
the  American  churches." 
Signed : 

Edouard  Gruner,       Frank  Puaux, 
Andre  Weiss,  Cornelis  De  Witt, 

Andre  Monod. 

If  you  will  let  me  know  the  date  on  which  you  propose  to 
sail,  I  shall  be  pleased  to  cable  it  to  France. 
Believe  me — 

Yours  ver>'  sincerely, 

(Signed)  Andre  Tardieu. 

This  was  followed  by  an  invitation  to  Dr.  Macfarland, 
from  the  French  Government,  to  be  its  official  guest  dur- 
ing his  visit. 

In  response  to  this  invitation  Dr.  Macfarland  sailed 
for  France  on  June  11.  His  report  to  the  Administra- 
tive Committee  of  the  Federal  Council  follows  in  part : 

Meetings  with  the  French  Churches 

I  was  met  by  representatives  of  the  churches  of  Bordeaux, 
the  Y.  M.  C.  A.,  the  Foyer  du  Soldat,  by  Chaplain  Victor 
Monod,  representing  the  French  Government,  and  Jacques 
Dumas,  representing  the  French  Protestant  Committee.  In 
Bordeaux  I  met  at  lunch  a  group  of  Protestant  business  men 
and  was  formally  received  at  a  representative  meeting  of  the 
officials  of  the  Bordeaux  churches. 

On  arrival  at  Paris,  I  was  met  by  representatives  of  the 
churches  and  by  an  officer  detailed  by  the  War  Office,  who  wel- 
comed me  as  the  guest  of  the  French  Republic.  An  office,  with 
stenographic  assistance,  was  provided  at  the  House  of  Missions. 


212       FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM 

Conferences  were  held  as  follows,  in  and  about  Paris,  on  suc- 
cessive days,  with  the  various  Protestant  organizations:  French 
Protestant  Committee,  Society  of  Missions,  Theological  Fac- 
ulties, Central  Evangelical  Society,  Blue  Cross  Society,  Joint 
Meeting  of  the  French  Protestant  Federation,  French  Protestant 
Committee  and  general  representatives  of  French  Protestantism, 
Commission  on  Social  Service,  McAll  Mission,  Permanent  Com- 
mission of  the  Reformed  Evangelical  Churches,  Committee  for 
the  Help  of  Refugees,  Representatives  of  the  Reformed 
Churches,  Bureau  of  the  Societies. 

I  also  visited  the  various  Protestant  institutions,  including  the 
House  of  Deaconesses,  Library  of  the  Protestant  Historical  So- 
ciety, I'Eglise  St.  Jean,  "  Notre  Maison,"  the  various  Lutheran 
homes  and  asylums  at  Courbevoie,  and  similar  institutions,  as 
well  as  several  historic  churches. 

At  Paris,  on  Sunday,  June  30,  two  important  meetings  were 
held,  one  at  the  American  church,  at  which  addresses  were 
made  by  Rev.  Chauncey  W.  Goodrich,  Chaplain  IMonod  of  the 
French  Army,  Rev.  Wilfred  Monod  of  the  French  Protestant 
Federation,  Ambassador   Sharp  and  myself. 

The  other  was  at  the  historic  church  of  the  Oratoi(*e,  at  which 
I  presented  the  following  message : 

The  Message  of  Christians  in  America  to  the  People  of 

France 

The  Federal  Council  of  the  Churches  of  Christ  in  America, 
through  its  Administrative  Con\mittee,  in  behalf  of  Christian 
people  in  America  sends  greetings  to  their  brothers  and  sisters, 
the  people  of  France. 

Over  against  all  the  backgrounds  of  darkness,  over  against 
the  magnitude  of  the  costs,  the  losses,  the  sacrifices,  which  we 
have  so  deeply  deplored,  we  witness  the  magnificence  of  those 
ideals  which  have  been  your  priceless  possession  for  these  four 
momentous  years  and  into  the  heritage  of  which  we  are^  now 
privileged  to  enter.  France  was  never  richer  in  all  her  history 
than  today. 

We  begin  to  realize  not  only  the  sufferings,  but  the  blessings 
which  are  coming  out  of  this  conflict.  In  this  companionship  of 
nations  into  which  our  nation  has  entered,  we  already  feel  the 
throbbing  life  of  the  League  of  Nations  for  which  we  have 
prayed.    Delegates  are  passing  back  and  forth  between  churches 


FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM       213 

in  these  nations.  As  our  own  Secretary  of  State  said  of  the 
two  beloved  delegates  whom  you  sent  to  our  American  churches, 
"  You  bring  with  you  the  atmosphere  and  the  spirit  which  we 
need."  We  rejoice  in  the  privilege  which  we  have  now  of 
entering  into  your  life,  of  entering  into  your  thought,  and  of 
entering  into  your  suffering  and  sacrifice. 

The  Federal  Council  and  Christian  people  of  America  send 
words  of  faith  and  courage  to  the  France  that  has  bled  for  us; 
that  fulfils  the  prophecy  spoken  of  Jesus,  the  France  that  has 
carried  our  sorrows;  to  a  nation  that  has  kept  her  eye  fixed 
upon  her  aims  and  her  ideals,  and  has  not  paused  to  contem- 
plate her  wounds,  nor  count  her  losses,  nor  measure  her  cup 
of  suffering. 

They  express  their  rejoicing  at  the  mingling  of  your  mes- 
sengers of  mercy  with  those  whom  we  have  sent  across  the 
seas;  their  joy  that  we  have  become  one  people:  they  ask  the 
privilege  of  mingling  their  tears  with  those  of  every  French 
wife  and  mother. 

Our  students  are  turning  the  pages  of  your  history  and  litera- 
ture as  never  before.  They  are  learning  your  language.  Our 
religious  leaders  are  seeking  to  understand  your  spiritual  life. 
Wherever  one  goes,  in  America  today,  are  signs  and  symbols  of 
the  unity  which  is  and  which  is  to  be.  The  orator  who  desires 
the  applause  of  his  hearers  has  but  to  mention  France,  or  if 
he  wishes  to  touch  their  hearts  has  but  to  tell  the  story  of 
your  sacrifice.  You  are  helping  to  dethrone  the  materialistic 
god  who  had  tried  to  possess  us  and  upon  whose  power  over 
us  our  enemies  had  counted  to  stay  our  hands.  We  name  you 
when  we  seek  our  loans,  when  we  call  for  our  men,  when  we 
ask  for  unselfish  restraint  that  we  may  share  our  resources 
with  our  allies.  You  have  helped  us  to  clarify  our  thinking  as 
we  measure  the  distinctions  between  justice  and  injustice,  be- 
tween selfishness  and  sacrifice,  between  loyalty  and  faithlessness. 

It  is  not  for  us  to  deal  with  the  political  and  military  meas- 
ures of  our  governments,  but  rather  to  create  such  a  spirit  as 
shall  cause  them  to  be  guided  by  the  hand  of  God,  to  steady 
and  inspire  our  peoples  by  keeping  ever  before  them  the  moral 
and  spiritual  ideals  which  are  at  stake,  to  help  our  nations,  in 
a  time  of  confusion,  to  maintain  our  institutions  for  the  renewal 
of  our  souls  by  the  worship  and  service  of  Almighty  God  and, 
above  all,  to  purge  our  own  hearts  clean  of  arrogance  and  sel- 
fishness, that  we  may  help  to  keep  our  people,  our  defenders 
and  our  nations  close  to  the  Infinite. 

It  is  our  duty  above  all  others,  as  our  President  expressed  it 
in  his  last  message  to  our  people,  to  pray  Almighty  God  that 
He  may  forgive  our  sins  and  shortcomings  as  a  people  and 
purify  our  hearts  to  see  and  love  the  truth,  to  accept  and  defend 
all  things  that  are  just  and  right,  and  to  purpose  only  those 


214       FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM 

righteous  acts  and  judgments  which  are  in  conformity  with  His 
will ;  beseeching  Him  that  He  will  give  victory  to  our  armies 
as  they  fight  for  freedom,  wisdom  to  those  who  take  counsel  on 
our  behalf  in  these  days  of  dark  struggle  and  perplexity,  and 
steadfastness  to  our  people  to  make  sacrifice  to  the  utmost,  in 
support  of  what  is  just  and  true,  bringing  us  at  last  the  peace 
in  which  men's  hearts  can  be  at  rest  because  it  is  founded  upon 
mercy,  justice  and  good  will. 

Frank  Mason  North, 
President,  Fede'^'al  Council 
of  the  Churches  of  Clirist  in  America. 
James   I.  Vance, 
Chairman,  Executive  Committee, 
Albert  G.  Lawson, 
Chairman,  Administrative  Committee. 
June  10,  1918. 

Other  meetings  were  held  at  Protestant  churches  in  Neuilly, 
Chaumont,  Nancy,  Gerardmer,  Wesserling,  Thann,  Montbeliard, 
Valentigney,  Aigues-Mortes,  Nimes,  St.  Jean  du  Gard,  Anduze, 
Troyes,  La  Force  and  Ste.  Foy.  These  cities  and  towns  are 
distributed  in  the  western,  southern  and  eastern  sections  of 
France,  and  thus  we  reached  every  available  part  of  the  nation. 
Formal  addresses  were  presented  to  me,  both  orally  and  in 
written  form,  in  each  case,  and  they  would  make  a  considerable 
volume,  replete  with  historic  material,  in  eloquent  and  glowing 
language,  of  a  literary  quality  worthy  of  preservation.  In 
nearly  all  cases  the  meetings  were  of  a  popular  nature,  attended 
by  the  general  population  and  arousing  unusual  attention. 

I  visited  the  various  Protestant  social,  philanthropic  and  re- 
ligious institutions  in  all  these  localities.  These  included  the 
noted  asylums  at  La  Force,  the  agricultu'-al  colony  at  Ste.  Foy, 
and  the  efficient  hospital  at  Bordeaux,  which  has  instituted  the 
first  system  of  trained  nurses  in  France. 

Shortly  after  our  arrival  in  Paris,  Ambassador  Sharp  gave  a 
luncheon  attended  by  representative  Protestant  ministers,  lay- 
men and  Y.  M.  C.  A.  workers. 

I  was  in  conference,  more  or  less  all  of  the  time,  with  the 
leaders  of  Protestant  forces  and,  shortly  before  leaving,  two 
full  days  were  spent  with  the  Federation,  the  Society  of  Mis- 
sions, the  Theological  Faculties  and  the  United  Committee  on 
War  Work. 


FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM       215 

The  Society  of  Missions  will  shortly  send  Chaplain  Daniel 
Couve  as  a  delegate  to  the  Federal  Council  for  introduction  to 
the  Foreign  Mission  organizations,  to  confer  regarding  the  mis- 
sion work  in  French  colonies.  He  will  assist  in  the  work  of 
the  Committee  on  the  Moral  Aims  of  the  War.  It  is  also  ex- 
pected that  the  Theological  Faculties  of  Paris  and  Montauban 
will  send  two  representatives  to  the  Council  for  introduction  to 
our  Theological  Seminaries. 

Bishop  Wilson,  of  our  Administrative  Committee,  attended 
meetings  of  the  French  Protestant  Committee  and  of  the  Fed- 
eration and  was  warmly  welcomed.  His  address  to  the  Federa- 
tion was  given  with  his  usual  charm  and  wisdom. 

Civic  Interest 

In  practically  every  instance,  in  visiting  cities  and  towns,  we 
were  received  by  the  Mayors,  Prefects  and  Councils  and  similar 
officials,  in  most  cases  by  formal  addresses.  President  Poincare 
sent  his  official  representative  to  the  meeting  at  the  Oratoire. 
At  St.  Amarin  and  Thann,  in  Alsace,  hundreds  of  school  chil- 
dren greeted  us  with  songs  and  flowers.  We  were  almost  al- 
ways escorted  by  troops  of  Boy  Scouts,  bands  of  children  or 
military  school  brigades.  Churches,  homes  and  public  buildings 
were  decorated  with  American  and  French  flags  and  inscriptions 
of  welcome.  In  numerous  instances  we  visited  the  public 
schools  and  similar  institutions. 

In  the  Cevennes  district,  the  schools,  factories  and  stores 
were  closed  during  the  day.  On  several  occasions,  Roman 
Catholic  priests  joined  in  the  general  reception  and  gave  per- 
mission to  their  members  to  attend  the  meetings  in  Protestant 
temples.  Generally,  we  were  received  by  the  entire  community 
as  we  came  through  the  streets,  and  often  a  much  larger  crowd 
was  gathered  outside  the  meeting-places  than  those  who  gained 
admission.  It  was  found  necessary  to  arrange  admission  by 
ticket  only. 

Perhaps  the  most  significant  meetings  were  those  at  the  Tower 
of  Constance,  over  which  the  Mayor  of  Aigues-Mortes  presided, 
and  the  great  open-air  meeting  at  Mialet,  in  the  historic 
Huguenot  desert,  where  I  spoke  to  a  large  gathering  which  as- 


216       FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM 

sembled  from  miles  around,  from  one  of  the  old  portable  pulpits 
which  the  persecuted  Huguenots  used  to  carry  out  there  in  sec- 
tions, and  on  which  rested  Roland's  pulpit  Bible. 

In  all  of  these  cities  and  towns  I  visited  the  various  historic 
places  and  institutions,  especially  those  associated  with  Huguenot 
history,  including  the  famous  Musee  du  Desert,  the  repository 
of  Huguenot  relics  and  documents. 

National  Interest 

The  French  press  both  reflected  and  created  an  unexpected 
national  interest  in  our  messages.  Leon  Bailby,  in  "  LTntran- 
sigeant,"  said:  'These  sheets  of  paper  in  black  and  white  are 
worth  many  guns  and  rifles  and  many  young  men  coming  to 
reinforce  our  lines.  The  material  mobilization  of  this  immense 
people  is  moved  by  a  high  ideal  which  the  barbarians  cannot 
understand  but  have  to  acknowledge.  Against  the  enemy's  des- 
perate blows  we  ought  to  hold  on  during  these  weeks  which 
will  decide  our  superiority  over  them." 

The  messages  and  addresses  were  quoted  widely  in  the  press 
of  Greece,  Northern  Africa,  Switzerland,  Holland  and  the 
Scandinavian  countries.  They  were  sent  out  also  by  radiogram 
and  circulated  by  aeroplanes  in  the  effort  to  reach  German  soil, 
and  were  translated  into  German  for  Alsatian  and  Swiss  readers. 
The  religious  press,  for  several  issues,  was  largely  given  over 
to  the  messages  and  accounts  of  the  meetings. 

In  various  localities  we  were  given  luncheons  or  dinners  by 
members  of  the  House  of  Deputies,  mayors,  and  industrial  and 
social  leaders.  At  Valentigney  I  addressed  a  great  gathering  on 
the  evening  of  the  14th  of  July,  composed  entirely  of  working 
people,  and  the  morning  meeting  at  Montbeliard,  that  day,  was 
a  memorable  one. 

I  addressed  and  met  several  groups  of  representative  men  at 
luncheons  and  dinners,  including  a  luncheon  by  M.  Andre 
Tardieu,  now  General  Commissioner  of  Franco-American  Rela- 
tions, and  a  large  gathering  at  the  Cercle  Franco-Americain.  I 
attended  the  annual  Fourth  of  July  dinner  in  Paris. 


FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM       217 

With  the  French   Army 

Among  the  most  interesting  and  valuable  experiences  was  my 
visit,  as  volunteer  chaplain,  with  the  French  army. 

The  following  message  was  handed  to  M.  Clemenceau,  Secre- 
tary of  War,  and  also  to  Marshal  Foch,  with  whom  I  had  sup- 
per, at  the  French  Army  Headquarters,  just  at  the  time  of  his 
great  victories: 

The  Message  of  Christians  in  America  to  the  French  and 
Allied  Armies 

The  Federal  Council  of  the  Churches  of  Christ  in  America, 
through  its  Administrative  Committee,  conveys  the  greetings  of 
American  Christians  to  General  Foch,  the  French  army  and  the 
Allied  armies. 

For  four  momentous  years  you  have  been  fighting  the  battles 
of  the  whole  civilized  world  for  its  security  and  liberty.  At- 
tacked by  a  gigantic  force  which  had  for  many  years  been  mak- 
ing ready,  with  scrupulous  care,  for  its  assault  upon  those 
principles  of  righteousness  and  peace  which  all  the  world  holds 
dear,  you  have  fought  bravely,  and  endured  with  splendid  forti- 
tude, upon  a  field  of  honor  which  you  have  kept  unstained  by 
cruelty  and  on  which  you  have  left  no  marks  of  national 
disgrace. 

We  rejoice  that  the  soldiers  of  the  American  army  have  be- 
fore them  this  example  of  the  depth  of  your  loyalty  and  the 
height  of  your  code  of  honor. 

The  Christian  people  of  America  are  gratified  that  they  are, 
from  henceforth,  not  only  the  admiring  and  often  the  amazed 
witnesses  of  your  service  in  their  behalf  and  in  behalf  of  all 
mankind,  but  that  today  their  soldiers  enter  gladly  into  the 
heritage  of  your  devotion  and  reverently  into  the  fellowship  of 
your  sacrifice  and  suffering.  From  henceforth  you  endure  and 
struggle  not  only  for  us,  but  with  us. 

It  is  with  the  deepest  satisfaction  that  we  have  assigned  our 
sons  to  the  generalship  of  your  commander-in-chief,  and  to 
you  we  convey  a  message  identical  with  that  to  our  own 
soldiers : 

'  You  are  the  defenders  of  our  rights,  our  liberties,  our  souls ; 
but  you  are  more  than  that.  You  are  the  protectors  of  all  who 
suffer  wrong  and  injustice;  but  you  are  infinitely  more  than 
that.  You  stand  for  the  moral  convictions  and  the  spiritual 
ideals  of  the  civilized  world,  for  judgments  never  so  determined 
and  for  spiritual  vision  never  so  clear  as  in  this  hour. 

In  the  presence  of  God,  we  stand  with  you  in  solemn  league 


218       FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM 

and  covenant,  until  the  last  Teutonic  heel  shall  cease  to  dese- 
crate this  sacred  soil,  until  again  the  unsullied  lilies  shall  bloom 
in  all  their  glory  in  the  fields  of  France.  Upon  this  "  frontier 
of  freedom,"  which  is  not  a  mere  line  of  trenches,  but  is  a 
spiritual  border,  marking  the  line  between  honor  and  dishonor, 
between  justice  and  wrong,  our  voices  shall  mingle,  "  They  shall 
not  pass."  Here  we  stand  together,  until  the  relentless  integrity 
of  the  universe  is  vindicated  and  we  can  live  in  a  world  of  na- 
tions, clean  and  honorable  and  undefiled,  and  as  the  red,  the 
white  and  the  blue  of  the  Tri-color  of  France  and  the  Stars 
and  Stripes  of  the  United  States  have  become  interwoven,  so 
from  henceforth  we  are  prepared  to  live  together,  and,  if  God 
wills,  to  die  together. 

We  rejoice  to  report  to  you  that  the  Christian  people  of 
America  are  your  support,  not  only  by  their  loans  and  gifts, 
their  provision  for  your  physical  needs,  both  for  active  service 
and  for  experiences  of  suffering,  not  only  in  their  earnest 
prayers  and  sentiments  of  affection.  In  a  spirit  of  constant 
self-humiliation  and  penitence,  with  hearts  reaching  out  for 
divine  wisdom  and  grace  by  the  formulation,  the  deepening  and 
the  unhesitating  and  uncompromising  expression  of  those  great 
moral  convictions  of  our  people,  they  seek  to  strengthen  their 
minds  and  hearts  with  yours,  as  you  meet  a  foe  that  knows  only 
the  right  of  force,  with  arms  and  men  who  symbolize  the  force 
of  right. 

We  offer  our  tenderest  prayers  for  your  mothers,  wives  and 
little  children.  We  pray  that  God  may  give  to  us  and  to  you 
the  grace,  the  moral  courage  and  the  spiritual  strength  to  do 
His  holy  will,  that  we  may  ever  be  the  witnesses  of  truth  and 
righteousness  and  holy  love.' 

Frank  Mason  North, 
President,  Federal  Council 
of  the  Churches  of  Christ  in  America. 
James  I.  Vance, 
Chairman,  Executive  Committee. 
Albert  G.  Lawson, 
Chairman,  Adnninistrative  Committee. 
June  10,  1918. 

Marshal  Foch,  who  is  a  deeply  religious  man,  expressed  great 
pleasure  on  reading  the  message,  and  my  visit  with  him  was 
one  never  to  be  forgotten.  In  Paris,  I  had  a  pleasant  con- 
ference with  Marshal  Joffre  and  paid  a  visit  to  General  Niox, 
at  the  Hotel  des  Invalides. 

The  Franco-American  front  was  visited  from  Verdun  to 
Belfort.    The  war  office  detailed  Chaplain  Monod,  of  the  Army, 


FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM       219 

and  Major  de  Ganay,  of  the  War  Department,  to  accompany 
me,  and  the  French  Protestant  Committee  sent  Professor  John 
Vienot.  We  were  provided  with  two  motor  cars,  an  official 
photographer  and  a  moving  picture  operator. 

ReHgious  services  were  held  at  Chaumont,  Verdun,  Nancy, 
Gerar'dmer,  Wesserling  and  Thann.  The  service  in  the  citadel 
at  Verdun  was  a  most  impressive  one,  attended  by  several  gen- 
erals and  their  staffs,  many  officers  and  soldiers,  Protestant 
chaplains  and  Y.  M.  C.  A.  workers.  At  Verdun,  I  was  also 
received  with  charming  cordiality  by  the  Roman  Catholic  Abbe, 
about  a  dozen   Catholic  chaplains  and  a   Hebrew  chaplain. 

We  visited  many  of  the  devastated  towns  and  villages,  some 
of  which  were  at  the  time  under  bombardment.  I  was  a  visitor 
to  several  war  work  institutions  and  camps,  such  as  munitions 
works,  aviation  camps,  tank  headquarters,  war  gardens  and 
similar  centers.  Many  hospitals  of  various  stages  and  kinds 
were  fully  inspected.  Several  of  the  French  army  Y.  M.  C.  A.'s 
(Foyers  du  Soldat)  were  visited,  one  of  them,  at  Fort  Douau- 
mont,  being  deep  underground  and  others  practically  in  the 
trenches. 

In  all  places  where  our  meetings  were  in  military  zones  they 
were  formally  attended  by  the  French  generals  in  command  of 
the  district. 

The  French  Government 

The  invitation  of  the  government,  that  I  should  be  an  official 
guest,  was  not  a  mere  formality.  The  visits  to  President 
Poincare,  M.  Clemenceau,  M.  Pichon,  Minister  of  Foreign 
Affairs,  Andre  Tardieu  and  other  national  leaders,  were  at- 
tended by  marked  cordiality,  and  the  hospitality  of  the  Repubhc 
was  generous  to  an  extreme  degree.  I  traveled  between  3,000 
and  4,000  miles  by  motor  car  and  each  and  every  function,  both 
with  the  army  and  in  civic  circles,  was  attended  by  representa- 
tives of  the  government.  Every  facility  was  placed  at  my  dis- 
posal and  from  the  time  I  landed  until  I  sailed  for  home  my 
commission  relieved  me  of  all  encumbering  formalities  and  ac- 
corded a  freedom  of  movement  which  enabled  me  to  cover  an 
unexpected  amount  of  visitation  in  the  time  at  my  disposal. 


220       FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM 

The  Message  to  the  People  of  France,  presented  to  President 
Poincare,  was,  by  his  order,  printed  in  the  Official  Journal  of 
the  Republic. 


The  Belgian  Army 

Upon  receiving  intimation  from  Chaplain-in-Chief  Pierre 
Blommaert,  of  the  Belgian  army,  that  a  visit  to  the  seat  of  the 
Belgian  Government,  to  King  Albert  and  the  Belgian  army 
would  be  welcomed  by  the  Protestant  chaplains  and  graciously 
arranged  for  me  by  the  Belgian  Government  as  its  guest,  I 
visited  Havre,  accompanied  by  Chaplain  Blommaert,  and  met 
Prime  Minister  Cooremans,  Count  Goblet-d'Alviella,  Minister  of 
State;  Carton  de  Wiart,  Minister  of  Justice,  and  lunched  with 
M.  P.  Hymans,  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs.  We  also  held 
conferences    with    ]\Iinister   Brand    Whitlock. 

On  the  way  to  the  front,  at  Etretat,  we  called  upon  General 
Leman,  the  defender  of  Liege,  only  recently  released  from  Ger- 
man imprisonment.  At  the  Belgian  headquarters  we  were  re- 
ceived by  the  General  Staff  and  officers  were  detailed  to 
accompany  us  to  the  trenches. 

A  message  was  presented  to  King  Albert  in  part  as  follows: 

The  Federal  Council  of  the  Churches  of  Christ  in  America, 
through  its  General  Secretary,  in  behalf  of  Christian  people  in 
America,  sends  greeting  to  their,  brothers  and  sisters,  the  people 
of   Belgium. 

At  the  most  critical  hour  in  history  your  nation  and  its  brave 
army  defended  the  civilized  world  against  the  ruthless  invasion 
of  its  rights  and  liberty. 

Over  against  all  the  backgrounds  of  darkness,  over  against  the 
magnitude  of  the  costs,  the  losses,  the  sacrifices,  which  we  have 
so  deeply  deplored,  we  witness  the  magnificence  of  those  ideals 
which  have  been  your  priceless  possession  for  these  four  mo- 
mentous years  and  into  the  heritage  of  which  we  are  now 
privileged  to  enter. 

We  begin  to  realize  not  only  the  sufferings,  but  the  blessings 
which  are  coming  out  of  this  conflict.  In  this  companionship 
of  nations  into  which  our  nation  has  entered,  we  already  feel 
the  throbbing  life  of  the  League  of  Nations  for  which  we  have 
prayed.  We  rejoice  in  the  privilege  which  we  have  now  of 
entering  into  your  life,  of  entering  into  your  thought,  and  of 
entering  into  your  suffering  and  sacrifice. 


FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM       221 

The  Federal  Council  and  Christian  people  of  America  send 
words  of  faith  and  courage  to  a  nation  that  has  kept  her  eye 
fixed  upon  her  aims  and  her  ideals,  and  has  not  paused  to  con- 
template her  wounds,  nor  count  her  losses,  nor  measure  her 
cup  of  suffering. 

They  ask  the  privilege  of  mingling  their  tears  with  those  of 
every  wife  and  mother  in  Belgium. 

They  send  a  message  of  gratitude  to  your  brave  soldiers. 

It  is  not  for  us  to  deal  with  the  political  and  military  meas- 
ures of  our  governments,  but  rather  to  create  such  a  spirit  as 
shall  cause  them  to  be  guided  by  the  hand  of  God,  to  steady 
and  inspire  our  people  by  keeping  ever  before  them  the  mo^ral 
and  spiritual  ideals  which  are  at  stake,  to  help  our  nations,  in 
a  time  of  confusion,  to  maintain  our  institutions  for  the  renewal 
of  our  souls  by  the  worship  and  service  of  Almighty  God  and, 
above  all,  to  purge  our  own  hearts  clean  of  arrogance  and 
selfishness,  that  we  may  help  to  keep  our  people,  our  defenders 
and  our  nations  close  to  the  Infinite. 

At  his  headquarters  we  met  the  Belgian  Minister  of  War  and 
his  cabinet,  to  whom  I  presented  the  same  message  as  to  King 
Albert,  with  the   following  as  an  additional  introduction : 

To  THE  Minister  of  War  of  Belgium  : 

In  behalf  of  the  Christian  people  of  America,  represented  by 
the  Federal  Council  of  the  Churches  of  Christ  in  America,  I 
desire  in  addition  to  the  message  to  the  Belgian  people,  to  con- 
vey a  special  greeting,  through  you,  to  the  army  of  Belgium. 

History  will  ever  have  a  glowing  page  for  the  momentous 
days  of  1914,  when  you  saved  democracy  and  freedom  for  the 
nations  of  Europe  and  America. 

The  words  devoted  to  your  army,  in  the  message  which  I 
have  the  honor  to  convey  to  your  King,  are  not  the  utterances 
of  mere  formality.  They  speak  the  heart  of  the  Americar/ 
people. 

The  King's  response  was  cordial  and  earnest  in  his  apprecia- 
tion of  the  spirit  of  the  American  churches.  The  message  was 
printed  in  the  Official  War  Record. 

We  held  a  conference  with  the  Belgian  Protestant  chaplains 
and  returned  to  Havre,  by  way  of  Dunkirk,  Calais  and 
Boulogne. 

A  motor  car  was  provided  by  the  Government  for  the  entire 
journey  from  Havre  to  the  trenches  and  back.  The  Belgian 
government  proposes  to  send  Chaplain  Blommaert  to  America 


222       FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM 

as  a  representative  of  the  army  and  its  religious  work,  to  con- 
vey to  our  churches  the  Belgian  situation. 

I  regard  the  hours  spent  as  a  Volunteer  Chaplain  with  the 
Belgian  army  a  high  privilege.  At  King  Albert's  request  I 
went  through  many  sectors  of  the  trenches  and  was  deeply 
impressed  by  the  patience  and  valor  of  the  men  who,  for  four 
long  years,  have  lived  and  fought  under  circumstances  of  such 
awful  privation  and  difficulty. 

On  July  3,  I  presented  tlie  following  message  from  the  Boy 
Scouts  of  America: 

To  THE  Boy  Scouts  of  France  and  Allied  Nations 
Greetings 

BE  IT  KNOWN  That  the  Boy  Scouts  of  America,  desiring 
to  give  expression  to  the  deepening  relationships  between  the 
Boy  Scouts  of  France  and  the  allied  nations  have  this  day  ap- 
pointed Dr.  Charles  S.  Macfarland  as  Special  Commissioner  of 
the  Boy  Scouts  of  America,  and  have  requested  him  to  serve 
as  a  special  envoy  for  the  purpose  of  personally  presenting  to 
you  the  greetings  on  behalf  of  the  442,000  scouts  and  scout 
officials  of  the  United  States  of  America. 

Each  one  of  these  scouts  and  scout  officials  is  pledged  to  a 
program  of  war  activities  under  the  leadership  of  our  Govern- 
ment and  stands  ready  to  make,  any  .sacrifice  in  order  that  the 
war  may  be  won. 

The  valiant  and  courageous  work  of  the  scouts  and  soldiers 
of  our  allies  is  both  an  inspiration  and  a  challenge  for  our  best 
eflrort.     We  are  comrades  in  this  great  struggle. 

May  we  stand  together,  with  hands  across  the  sea,  our  feet 
firmly  fixed  on  the  rock-like  principles  of  the  Scout  Movement, 
in  order  that  life,  liberty  and  the  pursuit  of  happiness  may  be 
the  heritage  of  all  the  peoples  of  the  world. 

IN  TESTIMONY  WHEREOF,  the  officers  of  the  Boy 
Scouts  of  America  hereto  affix  their  signatures,  and  the  seal  of 
the  Boy  Scouts  of  America. 

Colin  H.  Livingston, 
President,  Boy  Scouts  of  America. 
James  E.  West, 
Secretary,  National  Council,  and  Chief  Scout 
Executive,  Boy  Scouts  of  America. 


FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM       223 

I  received  from  the  French  Protestant  Federation  the  follow- 
ing message  to  bring  to  you: 

Paris,  August  20,   1918. 

Message    of    the    French    Protestant    Federation    to    the 
Christians  of  America 

The  Council  of  the  French  Protestant  Federation,  together 
with  the  Protestants  of  all  denominations,  have  with  deep  feel- 
ing taken  cognizance  of  the  message  which  our  brother,  Dr. 
Macfarland,  has  brought  us  in  your  name. 

This  message,  vibrant  of  faith  and  sympathy,  has  been  a  pow- 
erful consolation  to  us  in  the  grievous  hours  when  we,  with 
disquietude,  have  invoked  the  aid  of  the  Most  High  while  the 
enemy  was  working  toward  Paris  in  a  supreme  effort  to  crush 
right  by  force,  to  establish  in  Europe  the  domination  of  trium- 
phant militarism,  disdainful  of  the  liberty  and  independence  of 
peoples.  .    .    . 

Your  wonderful  civil  missionaries,  your  women,  your  daugh- 
ters, members  of  your  Young  Men's  Christian  Association  and 
Young  Women's  Christian  Association  have  come  with  an  un- 
ceasing devotion  and  an  inexhaustible  generosity  to  assuage 
these  incredible  sufferings. 

Like  the  Good  Samaritan,  they  have  come  to  bend  over  the 
unfortunate  victims  of  this  most  frightful  of  invasions  and  to 
carry  to  them  words  of  consolation  and  continuous  and  abundant 
material  aid. 

May  God  be  thanked  for  all  which  you  are  preparing  to  do 
in  the  way  of  restoring  the  ruins  of  our  unfortunate  provinces 
and  of  revivifying  the  life  and  industrial  activity  of  our  richest 
fields,  now  totally  in  ruins  ! 

You  have  come  to  bring  on  the  part  of  the  Most  High  to 
those  ready  to  succumb  under  the  blows  of  adversity,  this  mes- 
sage of  faith  and  hope  which  shows  the  most  unbelieving  that 
God  does  not  abandon  him  who  puts  his  trust  in  Him,  and  that 
today  He  puts  in  the  hearts  of  His  children  that  spirit  of  devo- 
tion and  abnegation  which  Christ  came  to  teach  us  here  below. 

The  sons  of  Huguenots  who  for  so  many  years  have  suf- 
fered for  their  faith  upon  the  soil  of  this  devastated  country, 
which  many  could  not  bear  to  abandon,  will  fight  once  more 
with  your  aid,  even  to  the  final  triumph  for  the  liberty  of  the 
oppressed  of  all  nations  and  for  the  restoration  of  our  ter- 
restrial country.  Strong  in  this  union,  we  have  the  firm  certi- 
tude that  allied  in  this  strife,  we  shall  soon  rejoice  to  bless  God 
with  one  heart  in  the  triumph  of  the  great  cause  whose  defense 
has  cemented  once  more  the  bond  of  union  between  the  new 
and  the  old  continent. 


224       FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM 

Why  should  we  not  add  that  we  expect  still  more  from  the 
pity  of  our  God  and  from  your  charity?  May  the  spirit  breathe 
upon  the  dry  bones  to  make  them  live;  may  faith  revive:  may 
piety  develop  among  us  and  may  the  frightful  trial  which  has 
torn  our  hearts  become  the  beginning  of  a  revival  which  shall 
give  youth  to  our  churches  and  new  vigor  to  spread  through 
our  dear  country  the  evangel  of  our  Lord,  Jesus  Christ.  To 
this  task  also,  our  brothers  in  the  faith,  you  will  give  your 
co-operation  and  will  contribute  in  the  most  valuable  way  to  the 
great  work  of  God  for  the  safety  of  the  world. 
(Signed)  E.  Gruner, 
President,  Protestant  Federation  of  France. 

(Signed)        Elie  Bonnet, 
Secretary,  Protestant  Federation  of  France. 


THE  CHURCHES  OF  FRANCE  AND  BELGIUM 
Religion  in  General 

It  is  obvious  that  France  will  rise  out  of  this  war  a  powerfuf 
nation,  with  tremendous  moral  influence  in  tlie  world  of  nations. 
Therefore  the  religious  life  and  institutions  of  France  are  of 
great  significance  to  Europe,  to  the  Christian  world  at  large 
and  in  many  fields  of  missions. 

If  I  am  not  mistaken,  and  I  feel  sure  I  am  not,  there  is  going 
to  be  a  significant  change  of  attitude  towards  religion  and  re- 
ligious institutions  on  the  part  of  the  national  leaders,  publi- 
cists and  of  the  Government  itself.  These  agencies,  instead  of 
taking  a  neutral  attitude,  in  place  of  a  restraint  which  forbids 
expression  of  sympathy  or  encouragement  for  any  form  of 
religion,  will  take  the  very  different  course  of  expressing  sym- 
pathy toward  all  forms  of  religion.  They  will  not  adopt  or 
"ecognize  a  religion,  but  will  recognize  and  encourage  religion. 

In  the  new,  vital  and  warmly  sympatlietic  relationship  arising 
out  of  the  war,  America  and  France  arc  going  to  influence  each 
other's  life  deeply  and  this  cannot  fail  and  must  not  fail  to 
include  their  religious  life. 

There  are  three  elements  in  France,  a  large  body  of  Roman 
Catholics,  a  small  body  of  Protestants  and  a  large  ''third 
party  "  whose  magnitude  it  is  difficult  to  estimate,  which  is  seek- 
ing light. 


FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM       225 
The  Protestant  Churches 

The  Protestant  churches  are  relatively  few  in  number,  but 
have  an  influence  tremendousl}-  disproportionate  to  their  num- 
bers. This  is  due  to  the  personal  strength  of  their  leaders. 
In  official  and  commercial  circles  they  are  always  strong  and 
often  dominant.  They  are  a  power  in  community  life.  There- 
fore, it  is  by  no  means  an  adequate  mode  of  estimating  Prot- 
estant forces  to  do  it  by  numerical  calculation,  especially  when 
we  keep  in  mind  what  I  have  called  the  "  third  party  "  in  France. 

The  Protestant  churches  have  a  certain  conservatism  and 
want  of  constructive  method  and  action,  this  being  incident  to 
a  group  who  for  centuries  have  been  on  the  defensive  and  have 
had  to  maintain  their  existence  by  close  and  often  eclectic 
organization.  They  are  thus  not  so  strong  among  the  common 
people  as  they  are  in  what  may  be  termed  the  higher  circles. 
Their  present  temper  and  methods  are  probably  subject  to  some 
considerable  transformation. 

They  have,  however,  a  history,  traditions,  an  apostolic  suc- 
cession, a  power  of  personality  and  a  clear  grasp  of  fundamental 
religious  principles,  with  an  adequate  numerical  force,  to  make 
them  the   foundation  of  a  great  religious   structure  in   France. 

The  war  has  weakened  their  material  resources,  but  has 
served  to  strengthen  their  vital  spiritual  principles  and  life. 
They  constitute  in  large  measure  the  soul  of  the  nation. 

Undoubtedly,  like  religious  institutions  the  world  over,  they 
are  under  process  of  many  changes  and  I  feel  sure  they  are 
ready  to  pass  from  a  conservative  defensive  attitude  to  a  con- 
structive evangelical  development  adapted  to  the  modern  social 
conditions  and  life  of  France. 

Other  agencies  are  contributing  to  this  procedure,  the  devel- 
opment of  the  French  Y.  M.  C.  A.  (Foyer  du  Soldat)  in  the 
army,  the  work  of  our  Y.  !M.  C.  A.  and  Y.  W.  C.  A.,  and  the 
American  Red  Cross  both  in  the  army  and  among  the  people. 
It  is  also  induced  by  the  general  intermingling  of  French  and 
American  life  and  ideals.  The  Y.  M.  C.  A.  and  the  Y.  W.  C.  A. 
are  sure  to  become  great  forces  in  France. 


226       FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM 

The  Future 

This  lays  a  great  opportunity  before  American  Christianity 
and  involves  a  profound  obligation.  Whatever  we  do  must  be 
constructive,  and  not  offensive  or  destructive.  But  I  have  no 
hesitancy  in  saying  that  France  should  be  as  open  and  free  in 
her  religious  life  as  America.  To  assume  that  a  mere  matter 
of  numerical  proportion  should  determine  the  religious  life  of 
a  whole  people  is  no  more  sensible  in  relation  to  France  than 
it  would  be  in  relation  to  America. 

Constructively,  openly,  in  a  spirit  of  charity  and  good  will 
to  all  men  and  mstitutions,  it  is  the  duty  of  the  American 
churches  to  help  their  brethren  in  France,  to  assist  in  the  re- 
building of  the  destroyed  Protestant  temples,  to  help  them  build 
up  before  the  eyes  of  the  French  people  those  principles  of 
freedom  and  democracy  m  religion  which  we  cherish  for  our- 
selves. 

Three  of  the  constituent  bodies  of  the  Federal  Council  of  the 
Churches  of  Christ  in  America  have  related  bodies  in  France, 
the  Methodist  Episcopal,  the  Baptist  and  the  Lutheran  churches. 
There  are  equally  close  affinities  of  polity  and  form  of  doctrinal 
expression  between  the  various  Reformed  bodies  in  France  and 
several  of  our  constituent  denominations. 

These  bodies  in  France  are  federated  in  an  organization  which 
is  increasing  in  its  vitality.  Protestant  Hfe  in  France  has  been 
weakened,  as  in  America,  by  the  excessive  number  of  denomina- 
tions. This  is,  however,  increasingly  recognized.  If  what  we 
are  to  do  in  France  is  to  have  an  effect  upon  the  life  of  its 
people,  it  must  be  done  without  the  confusing  shadows  of  ap- 
parent or  real  divisiveness.  There  are  multitudes  of  what  I 
have  called  the  "third  party"  who  are  looking  for  the  light  of 
those  fundamental  principles  of  freedom  and  democracy  exem- 
plified in  the  Protestant  religion.  If  it  can  be  objectified  before 
their  eyes  clearly,  they  will  recognize  it. 

There  are  thus  these  various  religious  bodies  in  France.  To 
strengthen  religious  life  in  France  we  must  strengthen  them  as 
they  are  constituted.  We  cannot  reconstitute  them.  It  will  be 
natural  and,  indeed,  appropriate  that  the  corresponding  bodies 
in  America  will  wish  to  establish  especial  relations  in  France 


FRE^XH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM       227 

with  their  sister  churches  of  similar  form.  But  let  it  be  done 
through  joint  and  common  consultation  and  plan.  The  religious 
bodies  and  the  Federation  in  France  are  ready  for  such  pro- 
cedure. 

Let  us  strengthen  all  the  parts  in  such  manner  that  we 
strengthen  the  whole  at  the  same  time. 

Immediate  Help 

We  must  continue  and  greatly  increase  our  financial  help  to 
these  impoverished  churches. 

Among  their  most  important  organizations  is  their  United 
Committee,  which  is  a  corresponding  body  with  our  United 
Committee  on  Christian  Service  for  Relief  in  France  and  Bel- 
gium. Among  the  constituent  organizations  of  the  French 
United  Committee  is  the  Committee  for  the  Aid  of  Refugees 
and  Devastated  Regions.  While  in  Paris  I  secured  an  arrange- 
ment with  the  American  Red  Cross  for  cooperation. 

The  Belgian  Churches 

These  churches  are  associated  closely  with  the  French 
churches  and  should  be  included  with  the  plans  under  consid- 
eration. All  that  I  have  urged  regarding  France,  perhaps  in 
lesser  degree,  is  true  of  Belgium,  or,  in  any  event,  should  be 
made  true. 

Indeed,  there  is  just  a  little  danger  in  the  new  relationships 
between  the  two  larger  nations  that  little  Belgium  and  the 
days  of  1914  may  be  overlooked. 

Mutual  Relations 

These  common  problems  will  be  met  by  such  practical  pro- 
cedure as  follows : 

1.  A  Handbook  of  French  Protestantism  for  American  readers. 

2.  A  Handbook  of  American  Protestantism  for  French  readers. 

3.  The  translation  into  French  of  some  of  the  literature  of 
the  Federal  Council  and  the  translation  of  works  of  our  modern 
writers. 


228       FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM 

4.  Conference  between  the  Theological  Seminaries  of  the  two 
nations,  regarding  curricula  and  the  exchange  of  professors  and 
students. 

5.  French  Protestant  literature  in  American  libraries  and 
American  Protestant  literature  in  French  libraries, 

6.  Exchange  of  Preachers, 

7.  Consultation  between  Foreign  IMission  bodies  of  the  two 
nations. 

God  has  set  before  America  an  open  door  in  France  and 
Belgium.  Other  agencies,  including  interests  social,  educational 
and  philanthropic,  are  seizing  the  opportunity  for  service  to 
these  nations  and  are  already  on  the  field.  They  are  preparing 
the  way   for  the  churches. 

We  have,  on   the   part   of  the   churches,   an  opportunity   for 
consecrated  Christian  statesmanship  and  service,  calling  for  our 
earnest  prayer,  our  deepest  thought,  our  wisest  and  most  effec- 
tive action.     Such  are  my  most  profound  convictions. 
Respectfully  submitted, 

Charles  S.  Macfarland, 
Commissioner  to  France. 


At  the  call  of  the  Administrative  Committee  of  the 
Federal  Council,  a  "Jo^"^  Conference  of  American 
Agencies,"  convened  at  Yonkers,  N.  Y.,  on  October  23, 
1918,  to  consider  the  question  of  uniting  all  the  Ameri- 
can religious  agencies  interested  in  France  and  Belgium 
in  a  comprehensive  program  for  the  relief  and  recon- 
struction of  the  Protestant  forces  of  the  war  stricken 
countries  of  France  and  Belgium. 

Represented  at  the  Conference  were:  delegates  from 
the  various  churches  at  work  in  France,  or  having  related 
work  there,  including  the  Lutheran,  the  Baptist,  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  and  the  churches  of  the  Presby- 
terian and  Reformed  Alliance;  the  American  McAU 
Association ;  the  Administrative  Committee  of  the  Fed- 


FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM        229 

eral  Council;  and  the  Committee  for  Christian  Relief 
in  France  and  Belgium. 

The  following  were  among  the  recommendations: 

I.  That  immediate  relief  be  given  to  the  Protestant  churches 
of  France  and  Belgium  and  that  each  of  the  bodies  to  be  rep- 
resented on  the  reorganized  United  Committee  be  requested  to 
make  an  appropriation  through  the  Committee  for  this  purpose; 
and  that  $300,000  be  raised  in  this  way  to  cover  the  period  of 
the  next  six  months. 

II.  That  each  of  the  bodies  at  work,  or  having  related  work, 
in  France  and  Belgium  consider  action  in  regard  to : — 

1, — Requesting  the  denomination,  in  addition  to  its  own  work 
or  related  work  in  France  and  Belgium,  to  make  provision  to 
help  support  in  general  the  work  of  the  churches  of  France 
and  Belgium. 

2. — The  securing  of  constant  financial  assistance  to  its  own 
work  or  related  body  in  France  and  Belgium. 

3. — The  strengthening  and  developing  of  its  own  work  or  re- 
lated body  in  France  and  Belgium. 

4. — The  securing  in  this  procedure  of  the  fullest  consultation 
and  cooperation  with  the  various  other  bodies  having  work  in 
France,  and,  also,  to  the  fullest  possible  extent,  with  the  United 
Committee. 

III.  That  the  various  denominations  represented  be  requested 
to  make  provision  for  the  ordering  and  securing  of  copies  of 
the  Handbook  to  distribute  to  their  pastors,  to  the  end  that  all 
the  local  churches  may  be  fully  informed  of  the  work  and  its 
magnitude. 

IV.  That  each  denomination  at  work,  or  having  related  work, 
in  France,  be  requested  to  appoint  officially  at  least  two  repre- 
sentatives to  serve  on  the  General  Committee  of  the  United 
Committee,  one  of  whom  shall  be  appointed  to  serve  on  the 
Executive  Committee. 

V.  That  the  United  Committee  be  asked  to  approach  the  other 
evangelical  bodies  not  officially  represented  at  this  Conference  to 
take  action  similar  to  that  involved  in  the  above  recommenda- 
tions. 


230       FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM 

VI,  That  the  question  of  including  work  in  Italy,  Russia  and 
other  countries  in  addition  to  the  present  work  in  France  and 
Belgium  be  taken  under  consideration  after  the  fullest  con- 
sultation with  the  religious  bodies  having  interests  in  such 
countries. 

VII,  That  the  United  Committee  be  requested  to  appoint  a 
strong  representative  sub-committee  to  consult  with  the  Ameri- 
can Red  Cross  regarding  the  relief  of  French  and  Belgian 
Protestants. 

VIII,  That  the  United  Committee  consider  the  advisability  of 
arranging  for  a  large  delegated  conference  representative  of  the 
evangelical  churches  in  order  to  set  the  whole  program  for 
France  and  Belgium  before  the  American  churches  as  a  whole. 

These  recommendations  are  being  carried  out.  The 
churches  are  uniting  in  this  larger  plan  and  the  interest 
in  French  and  Belgian  Protestantism  is  increasing.  This 
uniting  of  our  forces  in  this  work  is  of  great  significance 
for  the  future  of  France  and  Belgium  and  for  the  cause 
of  democracy  and  freedom  in  religion. 

One  of  the  evident  tasks  of  this  Committee  is  to 
acquaint  the  Christian  people  of  America  with  the  Prot- 
estant institutions  of  France  and  Belgium  and  with  the 
aspirations  and  ideals  of  their  people. 

In  making  the  French  situation  better  known  to  our 
churches  the  Committee  is  receiving  much  support  from 
the  French  High  Commission  at  Washington,  D.  C.  In 
the  summer  of  1918  the  Commission  secured  the  services 
of  the  Rev.  Professor  Charles  Bieler  of  the  Presbyterian 
College  of  Montreal,  Canada,  who  is  familiar  with  the 
French  churches  and  kindly  placed  him  at  the  disposal  of 
the  Committee.  Dr.  Bieler  also  bore  a  commission  from 
the  French  Protestant  Committee  and  one  from  the 
Comite   d'Entr'aide.     He   spoke   on   behalf   of    French 


FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM       231 

Protestantism  before  many  churches  and  other  organi- 
zations. 

The  response  to  these  efforts  is  deeply  appreciated  in 
France.  This  is  indicated  by  the  recent  reception  to  Dr. 
Macfarland  by  the  French  Government  and  people  as 
well  as  by  the  French  churches.  Dr.  Macfarland  has 
given  some  intimation  of  this  in  his  report,  but  does 
not  begin  to  indicate  the  deep  significance  of  his  visit  in 
opening  up  a  great  field  for  both  French  and  American 
Protestant  forces. 

The  treatment  of  his  visit  by  the  entire  French  press, 
daily,  weekly  and  monthly,  was  remarkable  not  only  for 
the  manner  in  which  all  the  movements  of  the  American 
Church  Commissioner  were  followed  and  his  utterances 
recorded,  but  for  the  editorial  comment  and  for  the 
m.agazine  articles  which  appeared.  One  of  these  may  be 
selected  as  an  example.  Julien  de  Narfon  writes  in  La 
Revue  Hehdoniadaire  on  *'La  Croisade  Americaine  et  la 
Mission  du  Rev.  Macfarland:" 

It  is  manifest  that  we  are  discovering  America.  Not  its 
geography  but  its  soul.  And  the  charm  of  the  discovery  is  no 
less  than  the  surprises  which  it  reveals.  What  was  our  concep- 
tion, the  conception  of  many  of  us,  of  an  American?  A  sort  of 
demi-saiivage  whose  dcmi-civilization,  absorbed  in  constant  ma- 
terial interests,  had  no  other  object  than  the  pursuit  of  gold. 
I  ask  forgiveness  of  the  grandchildren  of  the  heroes  of  the  War 
of  Independence,  of  the  people  of  the  great  sister  republic,  who 
have  brought  to  us  so  fraternally  the  decisive  help  in  this  war, 
for  our  ignorance.  It  is  true  however  that  we  little  suspected 
the  real  American  spirit,  its  elevation  of  thought,  its  generosity, 
its  delicacy  of  feeling.  Unfortunately  we  have  been  more  atten- 
tive to  matters  limited  by  our  own  horizon  and  have  known  little 
of  other  peoples. 

That  which  has  brought  the  most  astonishment  to  us,  in  the 


232       FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM 

case  of  America,  is,  I  believe,  the  profoundly  religious  char- 
acter of  its  participation  in  the  world  war.  We  have  had  the 
impression  that  it  was  not  possible  to  have  a  strong  religious 
life  in  a  country  seemingly  divided  in  matters  of  confession  and 
belief.  The  First  Consul  indeed  said :  "There  is  not  enough  re- 
ligion in  France  to  make  two  religions."  It  seems  however  per- 
missible to  say,  in  a  true  sense,  that  there  is  enough  religion  in 
America  to  make  many  religions. 

A  few  weeks  ago  there  came  to  France  a  man  whom  M. 
Maurice  Prax  has  called  "The  messenger  of  souls."  It  was  the 
General  Secretary  of  the  Federal  Council  of  the  Churches  of 
Christ  in  America.  He  brought  a  double  message  from  Chris- 
tians of  America,  to  the  people  of  France  and  to  the  soldiers 
of  France.  His  visit  was  that  of  an  Ambassador  of  great 
spiritual  power,  or  to  put  it  better  still,  a  messenger  from  the 
soul  of  America  to  the  soul  of  France.  He  exercised  in  remark- 
able measure  the  gift  of  extemporaneity.  His  eloquence  was  that 
of  sobriety  and  force.  There  v^'as  constant  harmony  between 
what  he  said  and  the  way  in  which  he  said  it.  The  messenger 
from  the  American  Churches  was  a  man  both  of  action  and  of 
thought.  He  revealed  in  the  highest  degree  the  Protestant  spirit 
without  at  any  moment  being  merely  negative  or  in  the  slightest 
degree  offensive. 

"Do  nations  have  souls?"  This  was  the  question  which  he 
asked  and  answered,  while  with  us.  "The  soul  of  the  Nation": 
this  was  a  familiar  expression.  It  was  dealt  with  in  a  pro- 
foundly religious  sense  in  his  splendid  discourse  the  30th  of  June 
at  the  Church  of  the  Oratoire. 

While,  as  the  guest  of  the  Government,  Dr.  Macfarland  was 
received  and  welcomed  with  enthusiasm  by  all  the  people  of 
France,  its  army  and  its  citizens  at  home,  the  distinctively  reli- 
gious character  of  his  mission  naturally  served  its  highest  pur- 
pose in  strengthening  the  bonds  existing  between  Protestantism  in 
America  and  in  France.  This  in  no  way  lessened  the  national 
interest  in  him  and  his  mission.  America  is  a  Christian  nation. 
France  is  a  Christian  nation.  And  because  the  mission  of  Dr. 
Macfarland  bore  the  true  marks  of  the  spirit  of  Christ  ex- 
hibited in  all  his  messages  and  addresses,  not  only  the  Protestant 
element  but  through  our  whole  nation,  we  have  welcomed  him 


FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM       23S 

far  less  as  the  representative  of  Protestant  denominations  than 
as  an  ambassador  from  the  soul  of  America  to  the  soul  of 
France.  Therefore  his  visit  has  been  of  great  significance  in 
uniting  our  two  countries,  in  developing  the  love  of  the  one 
people  for  the  other.  Indeed  it  is  religion  that  gives  strength 
and  force  to  love. 

America  owes  to  France  its  existence  as  a  nation.  The  great 
republic  has  now  paid  it  royally.  We  look  to  it  as  our  great 
hope.  By  it  we  have  been  saved  and  with  us  has  been  saved  the 
liberty  of  the  world.  I  hope  and  I  profoundly  believe  that  it  is 
the  destiny  of  America  not  only  to  save  us  from  our  enemies  but 
to  save  us  from  ourselves,  showing  us  how  to  harmonize  au- 
thority and  liberty;  religion  and  democracy.  France  politically 
is  mutilated.  America  will  help  us  to  learn  how  a  great  free 
people  shall  find  the  right  place  for  authority  in  a  well- 
organized  society,  to  become  a  great  democracy  which  will  not 
commit  the  folly  of  imagining  that  the  first  duty  of  a  democracy 
consists  in  getting  rid  of  the  idea  of  God. 

In  the  new  bond  between  America  and  France,  the  visit  of  Dr. 
Macfarland,  although  he  held  it  close  to  its  religious  purpose, 
has  had  a  great  political  influence  in  that  it  has  thus  set  clearly 
before  our  vision  the  truest  and  highest  ideals  of  democracy. 

One  could  hardly  get  a  clearer  comprehension  of  the 
possibility  of  a  great  evangelical  movement  in  France 
than  by  reading  the  entire  article  from  which  the  above 
selections  have  been  made,  as  well  as  many  other  similar 
magazine  articles. 

As  a  result  of  the  Chairman's  visit  to  Belgiimi  the 
Belgian  Government  sent  Major  Pierre  Blommaert,  Chief 
Protestant  Chaplain  of  the  Army,  to  represent  the  Bel- 
gian people  in  America.  Major  Blommaert  also  repre- 
sents the  National  Church,  the  oldest  Protestant  Church 
of  Belgium.  He  has  done  much  to  acquaint  the  Chris- 
tians of  America  with  the  Protestants  of  Belgium. 

Chaplain    Blommaert    brought    a    message    from    the 


234       FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTIS^r 

Protestant  chaplains   and  soldiers   to  the   Christians   of 
America  in  part  as  follows : 

The  Protestant  chaplains  and  soldiers  of  the  army  of  Belgium 
received  with  deepfelt  gratitude  the  message  from  the  Chris- 
tian people  of  America  addressed  to  the  people  of  Belgium.  The 
emotions  which  the  message  has  awakened  in  their  hearts  will 
not  remain  mere  feelings,  but  will  be  transformed  into  new 
activities.  To  be  understood  does  not  leave  us  indifferent,  and 
your  message  proves  that  you  have  understood  us  in  our  suf- 
ferings, our  struggles,  our  aspirations. 

A  message  such  as  j^'ours  reveals  to  us  again  the  principles 
for  which  we  are  fighting  and  even  strengthens  our  purposes. 
Notwithstanding  the  pacific  feelings  that  have  always  been  in 
evidence  in  our  small  country,  we  are  proud  in  the  realization 
that  it  was  our  soldiers  at  Liege  who  struck  the  first  blow 
at  the  formidable  and  criminal  power  which  attacked  the  liber- 
ties of  the  world. 

But  if  your  sympathy  for  our  fallen  ones,  our  ruined  towns, 
our  prolonged  sufferings  has  deeply  moved  us,  nothing  touches 
our  hearts  more  than  to  be  understood  in  our  religious  aspira- 
tions. We,  Protestants  of  Belgium,  know  the  price  of  convic- 
tions so  dearly  bought.  Conflicts  have  not  been  spared  us  in  the 
past  to  obtain  the  right  of  seeking  Jesus  Christ  freely,  of  dis- 
covering His  message  and  of  proclaiming  Him  as  our  Saviour. 
And  if  the  war  has  so  placed  us  that  all  that  we  have  inherited 
nationally  and  spiritually  is  now  threatened,  it  has  also  proved 
to  us  that  in  placing  ourselves  on  the  basis  of  the  Gospel  we 
have  found  the  only  foundation  that  can  never  be  shaken. 

These  relationships  are  being  rapidly  extended  and 
deepened  at  the  present  moment.  On  November  13  the 
Administrative  Committee  of  the  Federal  Council  cabled 
the  following  message  to  King  Albert  of  Belgium: 

His  Majesty 

Albert,  Kikg  of  the  Belgians 

The  Administrative  Committee  of  the  Federal  Council  of  the 
Churches  of  Christ  in  America,  in  session  assembled,  expresses 


FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM       235 

its  gratification  that  your  brave  army  and  people  are  now  re- 
united in  their  land  and  homes. 

To  this  message  the  King  sent  a  gracious  reply. 
Upon  his  return  to  Belgium  Chaplain  Blommaert  car- 
ried the  following  message  from  the  Federal  Council : 

From  the  Federal  Council  of  the  Churches  of  Christ  in 
America  to  the  National  Union  of  Evangelical  Churches 
OF    Belgium    and    the    Belgian    Christian    Missionary 
Church 
Dear  Brethren  : 

The  world  was  told  that  Christianity  had  broken  down ;  that 
civilization  itself  had  collapsed,  and  many  were  the  signs  that 
seemed  to  confirm  this  verdict.  But  there  came  a  new  story  out 
of  old  Belgium.  From  the  most  favored  to  the  plainest,  the 
Belgian  people  stood  behind  their  King.  Their  unity  and  their 
faith  in  God  and  righteousness  stood  the  severest  testing  which 
ever  came  to  a  nation. 

Your  brave  nation  has  held  "the  frontier  of  freedom."  We 
pay  tribute  to  your  soldiers,  who  for  years  were  subjected  to  the 
keenest  of  suffering.  We  pay  tribute  to  the  plain,  home-loving 
men  and  women  who  have  been  so  true  to  the  best  in  them. 

In  the  past,  notable  women  have  honored  Belgium,  and  now 
godly  women,  through  all  these  years  of  conflict,  have  sustained 
your  country  by  their  strength  of  faith,  their  toil  of  love  and 
their  patience  of  hope.  Facing  well  nigh  insurmountable  ob- 
stacles, their  trust  in  God  and  their  confidence  in  one  another, 
have  kept  alive  the  purest  ideals  of  Christian  faith. 

We  rejoice  that  your  Evangelical  churches  have  been  sustained 
by  stalwart  men  and  women,  indomitable  in  courage,  tireless  in 
service  and  splendidly  persistent  to  the  end.  They  have  emu- 
lated the  zeal  of  the  Christians  of  the  catacombs  and  added  to 
the  glory  of  the  witness  of  the  martyrs,  in  their  sterling  man- 
hood, their  self-restraint,  their  fervent  devotion  and  their  self- 
sacrifice  even  unto  death.  We  rejoice  with  you  in  these  living 
letters  of  Christ. 

We  could  not  enter  fully  into  the  fellowship  of  your  suffer- 
ings, for  we  have  been  spared  the  outrages  perpetrated  on  your 


236       FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM 

soil,  but  we  have  esteemed  it  a  privilege  to  enter  into  the  fellow- 
ship of  your  determination  and  your  triumph,  and  now  to  join 
most  heartily  and  unitedly  with  all  your  people  in  gratitude  to  our 
God  and  Father  for  the  ending  of  the  war  and  the  coming  of 
peace. 

Our  words  cannot  exaggerate  your  deeds  nor  the  debt  we  owe 
to  Belgian  Christians  for  their  spiritual  vision  and  their  stead- 
fast endurance,  honorable  in  the  sight  of  God  and  man.  It  is  now 
our  great  joy  to  congratulate  you  upon  the  triumph  of  your  years 
of  struggle  and  the  vindication  of  your  deepest  convictions. 

The  Federal  Council  of  the  Churches  of  Christ  in  America  has 
been  happy  to  receive  your  representatives,  the  Reverend  Henri 
Anet  and  the  Reverend  Chaplain  Pierre  Blommaert.  Their  mes- 
sage so  freighted  with  weighty  and  compelling  interest  brought 
forth  the  heartfelt  sympathy  and  support  of  our  people  for  your 
people,  and  their  visits  have  been  for  the  mutual  strengthening 
of  the  bonds  of  brotherhood  between  the  churches  of  our  two 
countries. 

That  the  spirit  of  Christ  may  guide  the  great  Peace  Council  to 
form  such  a  Fellowship  of  Nations  as  will  secure  to  the  smaller 
and  weaker  peoples  the  first  consideration  in  the  time  of  need  is 
our  earnest  prayer.  This  will  but  fulfill  the  blaster's  command 
that  the  strong  bear  the  burdens  of  the  weak.  In  the  early  days 
a  Roman  said,  "Behold  how  these  Christians  love  one  another." 
May  the  day  hasten  when  the  world  shall  not  only  accept  the 
great  truth  that  God  made  of  one  blood  every  nation  of  men  to 
dwell  on  all  the  face  of  the  earth,  but  shall  also  establish  its 
Covenants  of  Brotherhood  that  the  tribute  of  the  future  his- 
torian may  be,  "Behold  how  these  nations  love  one  another !" 

We  were  rejoiced  to  receive  the  stirring  message  of  the  chap- 
lains of  your  army,  by  the  hand  of  Chaplain  Blommaert,  and  we 
now  commission  him  to  carry  to  you  this  expression  of  our  faith, 
our  hope  and  our  love  in  which  we  are  sure  our  churches  join 
as  one. 

By   order   of  the    Administrative    Committee   of   the    Federal 
Council  of  the  Churches  of  Christ  in  America. 
Albert  G.  Lawson,  Chairman. 
Charles  S.  Macfarland,   General  Secretary. 

December  30,  1918. 


FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM       211 

The  following  members  of  the  Committee  for  Chris- 
tian Relief  in  France  and  Belgium  and  of  the  Federal 
Council  are  now  in  France  or  on  their  way  there,  and 
their  reports  will  be  of  great  moment :  Rev.  Frank  Mason 
North,  President  of  the  Federal  Council,  Rev.  James  I. 
Vance,  Chairman  of  the  Executive  Committee  of  the 
Federal  Council,  Rev.  James  H.  Franklin,  Bishop  Walter 
R.  Lambuth,  Rev.  W.  W.  Pinson,  Rev.  Frederick  Lynch 
and  Rev.  Sidney  L.  Gulick. 

There  is  also  in  France  another  committee  appointed 
by  the  General  War  Time  Commission  of  the  Federal 
Council,  and  it  is  commissioned  to  consult  relative  to 
mutual  exchange  between  the  theological  seminaries  of 
the  two  countries.  President  Henry  Churchill  King, 
Chairman  of  the  Committee  on  the  War  and  the  Re- 
ligious Outlook,  is  also  in  consultation  with  the  French 
Protestant  committee  appointed  to  deal  with  the  same 
question. 

In  addition  to  the  delegates  from  France  and  Belgium 
already  mentioned,  other  recent  visits  have  been  made  to 
America.  Rev.  Ruben  Saillens  came  at  the  invitation  of 
the  Northern  Baptist  Convention.  Rev.  Emmanuet 
Chastand,  Directeur  de  TEcole  de  Reeducation  des  Mu- 
tiles  de  la  Guerre  and  Vice  President  du  Comite  de 
Rapprochement  Franco- Americain  from  Nantes,  came 
under  the  auspices  of  the  American  Red  Cross,  on  behalf 
of  the  re-education  of  mutilated  soldiers.  Mademoiselle 
Fuchs,  Madame  Bernard,  Madame  Avril  de  Ste.  Croix 
and  Mademoiselle  Bourat  came  to  assist  the  Young 
Women's  Christian  Association  in  the  war  work  cam- 
paign. At  the  present  moment,  Chaplain  Daniel  Couve, 
Assistant  Director  of   the   Society  of   Missions,   Paris, 


238       FRENCH  AND  BELGIAN  PROTESTANTISM 

is  here  under  the  auspices  of  the  Church  Peace  Union  and 
the  Federal  Council.  Dr.  Anna  Hamilton  of  the  Prot- 
estant hospital  at  Bordeaux  has  come  at  the  suggestion  of 
the  American  Red  Cross  to  secure  funds  for  the  con- 
struction of  a  new  building. 

Of  immediate  importance,  of  course,  is  the  sending  of 
financial  assistance.  The  movement  for  the  financial 
support  of  the  French  and  Belgian  churches  in  iheir  task 
of  reconstruction  is  well  under  way.  During  1918  about 
$143,000  was  sent  by  the  Federal  Council,  in  addition  co 
$106,000  from  the  American  McAll  Association.  The 
total  amount  during  the  years  of  the  war  has  been  about 
$400,000  by  the  Federal  Council  and  individuals  asso- 
ciated with  its  committee,  and  $293,000  by  the  American 
McAll  Association.  In  addition  to  this,  gifts  have  been 
sent  direct  by  individuals,  through  the  personal  media- 
tion of  Dr.  Macfarland. 

The  Committee  for  Christian  Relief  in  France  and  Bel- 
gium has  called  for  an  immediate  $300,000,  and  requests 
for  1919  the  sum  of  $3,000,000.  A  nation-wide  cam- 
paign to  secure  this  help  is  just  beginning  as  this  volume 
goes  to  the  press.  It  is  under  the  direction  of  official 
representatives  of  several  great  denominations  united  m 
the  Federal   Council's  committee. 

Meanwhile,  representatives  of  these  churches  are  in 
conference  in  France  and  Belgium. 

The  outlook  for  evangelical  religion  in  these  nations 
is  full  of  hope  and  promise,  and  this  Httle  book  goes 
forth  with  the  prayer  that  it  may  be  of  service  to  this 
great  end. 


APPENDIX 

COMMITTEE    FOR    CHRISTIAN    RELIEF    IN    FRANCE 

AND  BELGIUM, 

105  East  22d  Street,  New  York. 

Plan  of  Organization 

The  aim  of  the  Committee  for  Christian  Relief  in  France  and 
Belgium  is  to  represent  all  the  Protestant  bodies  of  France  and 
Belgium  in  one  common  Committee ;  and  all  the  Protestant 
denominations  and  religious  agencies  of  America  working  in 
the  interests  oi  the  Protestant  bodies  of  France  and  Belgium. 

The  purpose  is : 

1.  To  conserve  and  develop  the  Evangelical  churches,   institu- 
tions and  missions  of  France  and  Belgium. 

2.  To  furtlier  the  interchange  of  thought  and  life  between  the 
religious  forces  of  these  two  nations  and  the  United  States. 

The  membership  consists  of  representatives  of  all  the  co- 
operating denominations  in  the  United  States  and  of  all  other 
co-operating  bodies ;  and  of  other  persons  interested  in  the 
Rehgious  Institutions  of  France  and  Belgium.  Each  co-operating 
body  or  denomination  shall  be  entitled  to  at  least  two  represen- 
tatives duly  appointed  or  elected  by  the  body  or  denomination. 

The  Executive  Committee  shall  consist  of  at  least  one  rep- 
resentative of  each  co-operating  body  or  denomination  duly 
appointed  or  elected  by  said  body  or  denomination. 

Co-operating  Bodies 

American  Baptist  Foreign  Mis-  Methodist  Episcopal  Board  of 

sion  Society  Foreign  Missions 
American  Bible  Society  The     World's     Christian     En- 
American  McAU  Association  deavor  Union 

Executive  Committee 

Rev.    Charles    S.    Macfarland,  Rev.  William  I.  Chamberlain 

Chairman.  Rev.  Francis  E.  Clark 

Rev.  John  Y.  Aitchison  Rev.  Charles  S.  Cleland 

Prof.  Jean   C.  Bracq  Rev.   Henry   Sloane   Coffin 

Rev.  Arthur  J.  Brown  Mrs.  James  C.  Colgate 

239 


240 


APPENDIX 


Rev.  William  Hiram  Foulkes 
Rev,  James   I.   Good 
William  A,  Harbison 
Rev.  William  I.  Haven 
Rev.  Hubert  C.  Herring 
Mrs.  Frank  B.  Kelley 
Rev.  Frederick  Lynch 
Paul  G.  Mclntire 


Rev.  H.  G.  Mendenhall 
Rev.  Frank  Mason   North 
Rev.  W.  W.  Pinson 
Rev.  R.  C.  Reed 
Edmond  E.  Robert 
William  Jay  Schiefifelin 
Rev.  Charles  J.  Smith 
Alfred  R.  Kimball.  Treasurer 


Rev.  Eddison  Mosiman,  Corresponding  Secretary 


General  Committee 
(Na}nes  of  Executive  Committee  not  repeated) 


Rev.  George  Alexander 
Rev.  Maitland  Alexander 
Rev.  A.  L.  Allais 
Mrs.  A.  A.  Anderson 
Bishop  William   F.  Anderson 
Mrs.  H.  Rosvi^ell  Bates 
Mrs.  Thomas  F.  Bayard 
Rev.  Augustus  F.  Beard 
Mrs.  William  Borden 
Mrs.  E.  M.  Bowman 
Rev.  Wm._  Hugh  V.  Boyle 
Rev.  William  Adams  Brown 
Rev.  David  James  Burrell 
Rev.  Ernst  W.  Bysshe 
Rev.  Charles  L.  Carhart 
Rev.  Charles  F.  Carter 
F.  W.   Chamberlain 
Miss  Mary  E.  Converse 
Hanford   Crawford 
Mrs.  James  S.  Cushman 
William   T.  Demarest 
Rev.  Reid  S.  Dickson 
Mrs.  George  E.  Dimock 
Rev.  D.   Stuart   Dodge 
Rev.  Paul  D,  Elsesser 
Mrs.  William  H.  Farmer 
Pres.  W.  H.  P.  Faunce 
Rev.  A.  H.  Fish 
Rev.  James  H.  Franklin 
Rev.  Chauncey  W.  Goodrich 
Jerome  D.  Greene 
Rt.  Rev.  David  H.  Greer 
John  Gribbel 
Rev.  Sidney  L.  Gulick 


William  Phillips  Hall 

H.  J.  Heinz 

Prof.  William  Bancroft  Hill 

Mrs.  John  Jacob   Hoff 

Mrs.  Louise  Seymour  Houghton 

Miss  Edith  M.  Howard 

Miss  IVIabel  K.  Howell 

Mrs.  Walter  S.  Hubbell 

Rev.  J.  P.  Huget 

Rev.  S.   G.   Inman 

Prof.  Charles  M.  Jacobs 

Rev.  W.  S.  Jacobs 

James  R.  Joy 

John  H.  M.  Knox 

Rev.  Frederick  H.  Knubel 

Bishop  Walter  R.  Lambuth 

Rt.  Rev.  William  Lawrence 

Rev.  Albert   G.   Lawson 

Mrs.  Henry  P.  Loomis 

Rev.  Malcolm  J.  McLeod 

John  T.  Manson 

George  W.  Marston 

Samuel  Mather 

Rev.  William  P.  Merrill 

Rev.  W.  W.  Moore 

Rev.  Henry  Mottet 

E.  E.  Olcott 

Rev.  Charles  H.  Parkhurst 

Rev.  Leighton  Parks 

Pres.  Charles  T.  Paul 

Mrs.  A.  R.  Perkins 

Jean  A.  Picard 

Mrs.  Gifford  Pinchot 

Daniel  A.  Poling 


APPENDIX  241 

Kev.  Thomas  C.  Pollock  Mrs.  Lucius  H.  Thayer 

Robert  J.  Kendall  Rev.  Worth  M.  Tippy 

Rev.  George  W.   Richards  E.  Tvvj-effort 

John  L.  Severance  John  Wanamaker 

Albert  Shaw  Eli  Whitney 

Mrs.  Robert  E.  Speer  Bishop  Luther  B.  Wilson 

Robert  E.  Speer  Rev.  A.  V.  Wittmeyer 

Rev.  John  Baer  Stoudt  Mrs.  Cornelius  Woelfkin 


Corresponding  French  and  Belgian  Committee 

COMITE  D'UNION  PROTESTANTE  POUR  LES  SECOURS 

DE  GUERRE  EN  FRANCE  ET  EN  BELGIQUE 

102  Boulevard  Arago,  Paris,  France 

Representing : 

Federation  Protestante  de  France 

Comite  Protestant  Frangais 

Comite  Protestante  d'Entr'Aide 

Union  Nationale  des  figlises  Reformees  fivangeliques 

Union  Nationale  des  figiises  Reformees 

!figlise  fivangelique  Lutherienne  de  France 

Union  des  figlises  £vangeliques  Libres 

figlise  fivangelique  Methodiste 

Union  des  figlises  Baptistes 

Mission  Frangaise  figlise  Methodiste  fipiscopale 

Societe  Centrale  fivangelique 

Union  des  figlises  Protestantes  fivangeliques  de  Belgique 

figlise  Chretienne  Missionaire  Beige 

Mission  Populaire  fivangelique  (Mac All) 

President 
M.  Edouard    Gruner,    President    du    Conseil    de   la    Federation 
Protestante  de  France 

Vice-Presidents 
M.  CorneHs  de  Witt,  President  du  Comite  Protestant  d'Entr'aide 

pour  les  regions  envahies 
M.  Andre  Weiss,  de  ITnstitut,  President  du  Comite  Protestant 

Frangais 


242  APPENDIX 

Membres 
M.  Albert  Juncker,  £glise  fivangelique  Lutherienne 
M.Jules    Pfender,    Pasteur,    Union   Nationale    des    figlises    Re- 

formees  £vangeliques 
M.  Wilfred  Monod,  Pasteur,  Union  des  figlises  Reformees 
M.  Elie  Bonnet,  Pasteur,  Union  des  figlises  fivangeliques  Libres 
M.  Onesime  Prunier,  Pasteur,  figlise  Evangelique  Methodiste 
M.  Charles  Merle  d'Aubigne,  Pasteur,  liglise  Missionaire  Beige 
M.  Paul  Barde,  Pasteur,  Societe  Centrale  fivangelique 
M.  Henri     Guex,     Pasteur,     Mission     Populaire     fivangelique 

(MacAll) 
M.  Georges  Lauga,  Pasteur 
M.  Victor  Monod,  Pasteur 
Rev.    Chauncey   W.    Goodrich,    D.D.,    Representant    du    Federal 

Council  of  the  Churches  of  Christ  in  America 
Rev.  E.  W.  Bysshe,  Representant  du  Methodist  Episcopal  Board 

of  Foreign  Missions 

Commission  Executive 
M.  Gruner  M.  Pfender 

M.  de  Witt  M.  Wd.  Monod 

M.  Juncker 

Secretaire 
M.  Andre  Monod 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Audibert,  Georges.     La  separation  des  eglises  et  de  I'etat  et  V organisation 

des  ciiltes  protestants.     Paris,  191 2.     160  pp.     (Thesis.     Paris.) 
Autin,  Albert.     L'echec  de  la  reforme  en  France  au  XVIe  siecle.^   Contribu- 
tion a   Ihistoire  du  sentiment  religieux.     Paris,   Armand   Colin,    1918. 

vii,  286  pp. 
Baird,  Charles  VV.     History  of  the  Huguenot  Emigration  to  America.     New 

York,  Dodd,  1885.     2  v. 
Baird,   Henry  Martyn.     Historv  of  the  Rise  of  the  Huguenots  of  France. 

New  York,  C.  Scribner's  Sons,  igoo.     2  vols. 
Baird,  Henry  Martyn.     The  Huguenots  and  Henry  of  Navarre.     New  York, 

C.  Scribner's  Sons,  1903.     2  vols. 
Baird,  Henry  Martyn.     The  Huguenots  and  the  Revocation  of  the  Edict  of 

Nantes.     New  York,  C.  Scribner's  Sons,   1895.     2  vols. 
Barres,    Maurice.      The   Faith   of   France:   Studies   in   Spiritual   Differences 

and    Unity.      Translated    by    Elizabeth    Marbury,    with    a    foreword    by 

Henry  Van  Dyke.      Boston,  Houghton,    19 18.     xxiv,  294  pp.     $1.60. 
Boegner,     Alfred.       French     Colonies    and     French     Missions.       Missionary 

Review  of   World,  Vol.   34,   March,   191 1.      Comprehensive  view  by  late 

Director  of  French  Board  of  Foreign  Missions. 
Bonet-Maury,    Gaston.      Histoire    de    la    liberie    de    conscience    en    France 

depuis  I' Edit  de  Nantes  jusqu'd  juillet  1870.     Paris,   Felix  Alcan,    1900. 

vi,  263  pp.     By  a  leading  Protestant  church  historian. 
Bracq,  Jean  Charlemagne.     France   Under  the  Republic.     New  and  revised 

ed.     New  York,  C.  Scribner's  Sons,  1916.     xi,  ^73  pp.     $1.50. 
The  Churches  of  Christ  in  America  and  France.     New  York,   Fleming  H. 

Revell  Co.,  1918. 
Coignet,  C.     L'evolutwn  du  Protestantisme  frangais  au  XIXe  si^cle.     Paris, 

F.  Alcan,  1908.     172  p.     An  excellent  outline. 
Ditchfield,  P.  H.     The  Church  in  the  Netherlands.     London,  Wells  Gardner, 

Darton   &   Co.,    [1893].     xii,   396   pp,   map.      (The   National   Churches.) 

An  Anglican's  sketch  of  the  Roman  background. 
Ducros,   A.      Le   mouvement  social  actiiel  dans  le  Protestantisme   frangais. 

Cahors,  A.  Coueslant,   1901.     107  pp.     Faculte  de  theologie  protestante. 
The    French    Evangelical    Lutheran    Church.      Paris,    1918.      27    pp.,    illus. 

A    descriptive    pamphlet.       Lutheran    War    Commission,     147    rue    de 

Grenelle,  Paris. 
Fritze,    Georg.     Die    Evangelisationsarbeit    der    belgischen    Missionskirche. 

Giessen   1908   (Studien  sur  praktischen  Theologie  .    .    .   hrsg.  von  Carl 

Clemen  ii,  3.) 
Gambier,    Henri.      Agenja-annuaire    Protestant.      Annie    191S.      Renseigne- 

ments  relatifs  aux  Eghses  et  aux  CEuvres  du  Protestantisme  de  langue 

frangaise.     Paris,  Librairie  Fischbacher,  1917-     384  PP-     The  indispensa- 
ble year-book. 
Guerard,    Albert   Leon.      French   Prophets   of   Yesterday:   A   Study   of   Re- 
ligious Thought  Under  the  Second  Empire.     New  York,  Appleton,  1913. 

288  pp. 

243 


244  BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Houghton,    Mrs.    Louise    Scvmour.      The   Idealism    of    the    French   People. 

Boston,   Richard   G.    Badger,    1918.     80  pp. 
Hubert,    Eugene.      Etude    stir    la    condition    des    Protestants    en    Belgique, 

depuis    Charles-Quint    jusqu'a   Joseph    II.      Edit    de    tolerance    de    lyHi. 

Bruxelles,  A.  N.   Lebegue  et  Cie.,   1882.     251   pp. 
Huguenot  Society  of  America.     Tercentenary  Celebration  of  the  Promulga- 
tion of  the  Edict  of  Nantes,  April  is,  1598,  by  the  Huguenot  Society  of 

America.     New  York,   1900.     Ixiii,  464  pp. 
Huguenots.      {Encyclopaedia  Britannica,    1910,   Vol.    13,   pp.   864-869.) 
Lindsay,    Thomas    Martin.      History    of    the    Reformation.      New    York,    C. 

Scribner's  Sons,   Vol.  2,   1907,  pp.   136-223.     Good  and  easily  accessible. 
Liittge,  Willy.     Religion  und  Dogma.     Ein  Jahrhundert  innerer  Entwickliing 

im    fransosischen    Protestantismus.      Tubingen,    J.    C.    B.    Mohr,    1913. 

viii,    114    pp.      {Zeitschrift    f.    Theologte   u.    Kirche    v.   J  oh.    Gottschick 

begriindet.    .    .    .    1913  Ergdnzungsheft.) 
Luttge,    Willy.      Die    Trennung   von   Staat   und   Kirche   in   Frankreich   und 

der    franzosische    Protestantismus.      Tubingen,    J.    C.    B.    Mohr,     1912. 

xii,  208  pp.     A  careful  study  by  a  foreign  observer. 
Mackintosh,   C.    W.      Coillard   of  the  Zambesi:   The  Lives  of  Franqois   and 

Christina  Coillard,  of  the  Paris  Missionary  Society,  in  South  and  Central 

Africa    (1858-1904).      New    York,    American    Tract    Society,    1907.      xix, 

484  pp.,  map. 
New  Schaff-Herzog  Encyclopedia  of  Religious  Knowledge.     Vol.  4,  pp.  353- 

355    include    articles    by    C.    Pfender:    Protestant    Churches — (i)     The 

Reformed   Church,    (2)    The   Lutheran   Church,    (3)    Evangelical   Work 

in  France.     Bibliography. 

Pannier,  Jacques.  L'cglise  reformee  de  Paris  sous  Henri  IV.  Paris, 
Champion,  191 1.  667  pp.,  illus.,  maps.  Thesis.  By  a  Protestant  expert 
on  Old  Paris. 

Puaux,  Frank.  Huguenots.  {Encyclopaedia  Britannica,  nth  ed.,  Vol. 
12.)      Excellent.     Good  bibliography.     Classified. 

Puaux,  N.  A.  F.  Les  CEuvres  du  Protestantisme  franqais  au  XIXe  siicle. 
Paris,  Fischbacher,  1893.  xxxii,  480  pp.  A  valuable  illustrated  work 
prepared  for  the  World's  Fair  at  Chicago. 

Robinson,  James  Harvey.  The  Reformation.  (Encyclopaedia  Britannica, 
nth  ed..  Vol.  23.)  General  considerations,  pp.  4,  5.  Zwingli  and 
Switzerland,  p.  14.     France,  pp.  18-20.     United  Netherlands,  pp.  20,  21. 

Sabatier,  Paul.  France  Today,  Its  Religious  Orientation.  Translated  by 
Henry  Bryan  Binns.  London,  Dent  &  Sons;  New  York,  E.  P.  Button 
&  Co.,  1913.     xii,  302  pp. 

Science  and  Learning  in  France,  with  a  Survey  of  Opportunities  for 
American  Students  in  French  Universities:  An  Appreciation  by  Ameri- 
can^ Scholars.  Chicago,  Society  for  American  Fellowships  in  French 
Universities,  191 7.     xxxviii,  454  pp.     Edited  by  J.  H.  Wigmore. 

Sparrow-Simpson,  W.  J.  French  Catholics  in  the  Nineteenth  Century. 
London,  Society  for  Promoting  Christian  Knowledge,  1918.  189  pp. 
By  an  Anglican  authority. 

Thompson,  James  Westfall.  The  Wars  of  Religion  in  France,  1559-1576,  the 
Huguenots,  Catherine  de  Medici  and  Philip  II.  University  of  Chicago 
Press,  1909.     XV,  635  pp.,  illus.,  plates,  maps,  plans,  facsims.     $4.50. 

Vienot,  John.     Les  premiers  republicains  frangais.     Paris,  19 18. 

Weber,  Aug.  Un  centenaire  I'Eglise  evangelique  lutherienne  de  Paris  1808 
a  1908.  Notice  historique  suivie  de  notes  et  de  documents  par  Aug. 
Weber.     Paris,  Consistoire  de  Paris,   1908.     177  pp.,  illus. 

Whitley,  W.  T.  Huguenots.  {Encyclopaedia  of  Religion  and  Ethics, 
Vol.  6.)     Good  bibliography. 


CURRENT  PERIODICALS 

French 

Bulletin  Protestant  FranQais,  102  Boulevard  Arago,  Paris,  Monthly. 
Organ  of  the  Comite  Protestant  Frangais. 

Christ  et  France.  6,  Quai-Neuf,  Alais  (Gard).  2  fr.  Two  editions.  Bi- 
weekly.    Journal  of  Evangelical  Reformed  Church. 

Le  Christianisme  an  XXe  Steele.  48,  rue  de  Lille,  Paris  (Vile).  13  frs. 
Weekly.     Journal  of  the  Evangelical   Reformed  Church. 

Foi  et   Vie.      Revue   de  quinzaine.     48,  rue   de  Lille,   Paris.     20   frs. 

Revue  Chretienne,  recueil  mensuel.  83,  Boulevard  Arago,  Paris  (IVe) 
12.50  frs. 

Revue  de  Theologie.     Montauban   (Tarn-et-Garonne).     7  frs. 

Societe  de  I'Histoire  du  Protestantisme  Frangais.  Paris,  Fischbacher. 
Bulletin  paraissant  tout  les  trois  mois.     12.50  frs. 

Le  Temoignage.  16,  rue  Chouchat,  Paris.  7  frs.  Semi-monthly.  Journal 
of  Evangelical  Lutheran  Church. 


Belgian 

Le  Protestant  Beige.     4,   rue   Renoz,    Liege.      Official   organ   of   the    State 

Church. 
Le  Chretien  Beige.     47,  rue  Stanley,  Uccle,  Brussels,     Official  periodical  of 

the  Belgian  Missionary  Church. 
Paix  et  Liberte.     Weekly  evangelistic  paper. 
Le    Glaneur,    weekly,    and    De    Blyde    Boodschap     ("The    Good    News"), 

weekly.      Issued  by  the    Flemish   Home  Mission    Society. 

The  Historical  Society  of  Belgian  Protestantism  (Societe  d'Histoire  du 
Protestantisme  Beige),  organized  by  the  two  Belgian  churches  for  the  study 
of  the  history  of  Protestantism  in  Belgium,  has  published  several  valuable 
pamphlets,  and  in  1910,  191 1,  two  volumes  of  documents  (Brussels). 

Note:  Articles  in  American  periodicals  may  be  found  in  the  Readers' 
Guide  to  Periodical  Literature  and  in  its  Supplement,  under  "  France. 
Religion." 

Among  the  libraries  in  the  United  States  that  have  special  collections 
on  French  history  are  Harvard,  Cornell,  and  the  University  of  California; 
on  the  religious  history  of  France,  Union  Theological  Seminary,  New  York 
City,  and  (for  theses)  Drew  Theological  Seminary,  Madison,  N.  J. 


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